Unraveling The Unrest In Minsk, Belarus

Minsk, Belarus has been the site of mass protests against the country's long-time leader, Alexander Lukashenko, since the disputed 2020 presidential election. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has been accused of rigging the election, with protesters calling for new, democratic leadership and economic reform. The demonstrations have been met with violent repression by the authorities, with widespread allegations of police brutality, torture, and sexual abuse. The international community has responded with sanctions and calls for free and fair elections in Belarus. Lukashenko has continued to deny allegations of election fraud and has refused to negotiate with the opposition. The situation in Minsk remains tense and unpredictable, with ongoing protests and a crackdown on dissent.

Unprecedented mass protests against the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko

In August 2020, Belarus witnessed the largest anti-government protests in its history, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of Minsk to contest the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. The demonstrations, nicknamed the Slipper Revolution and the Anti-Cockroach Revolution, were sparked by allegations of electoral fraud, with many believing that the vote had been rigged in favour of Lukashenko, who was seeking his sixth term in office.

The protests began in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election and intensified after the official results were announced on 9 August, declaring Lukashenko the winner. The main opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, rejected the results, claiming that she had received 60-70% of the votes. In response to the growing demonstrations, a number of pro-government rallies were held, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The anti-government protests were met with violent persecution by the authorities. Security forces, often with their faces obscured, used rubber bullets, water cannons, tear gas, and stun grenades to suppress the demonstrations. Human rights groups documented over 450 cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, as well as reports of sexual abuse and rape. The violent crackdown on the protests resulted in several deaths, including that of Alexander Taraikovsky, who was shot during a rally in Minsk.

The European Union (EU) and other international bodies condemned the repression and violence against the protesters, rejecting the legitimacy of the election and calling for new elections. The EU imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials and diverted funding away from the government towards civil society and victims of the crackdown.

Anonymous hackers also played a role in the protests, leaking the personal data of over 2,000 police officers in retaliation for the crackdown. The hackers distributed the data via the opposition news channel Nexta Live on the messaging app Telegram, threatening to continue publishing data on a massive scale as arrests continued.

The loyalty of the security forces was crucial to Lukashenko's ability to maintain power. Despite the violent response, the protests continued for several months, with demonstrators expressing their dissatisfaction and calling for a fair count of votes. However, the relentless repression and winter weather eventually took their toll, and the protests dwindled.

Opposition leaders, including Tsikhanouskaya, were either jailed or forced to leave the country. As of 2024, Lukashenko remains in power, with Belarus experiencing increased isolation from the West and continued economic support from Russia.

Police brutality and violent clashes with opposition demonstrators

The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were the largest anti-government demonstrations in the country's history. They were sparked by a disputed election in which long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office. Lukashenko was declared the winner, but the main opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, rejected the results as falsified. This led to mass protests in the capital, Minsk, and other cities, with demonstrators clashing violently with police.

The police response to the protests was marked by brutality and repression. During the post-election clashes, detainees reported being badly beaten and forced to endure overcrowded jails. Many sought medical help and posted pictures of their injuries on social media after being released, fuelling further demonstrations. Law enforcement officers used rubber bullets, stun grenades, water cannons, and tear gas to disperse crowds, resulting in thousands of arrests.

The human rights group Viasna documented 1,000 testimonies of torture victims at the end of 2020. The United Nations Human Rights Office also cited more than 450 documented cases of torture, ill-treatment, sexual abuse, and rape. The Belarusian authorities' actions during the protests were widely condemned by the international community, with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States imposing sanctions on Belarusian officials.

The crackdown on the opposition continued beyond the initial wave of protests. Opposition leaders were forced to leave the country through intimidation and threats, and members of the Coordination Council, formed to negotiate a transfer of power, were detained and questioned. The authorities systematically targeted independent media outlets, revoking the accreditation of foreign journalists and blocking independent news websites.

Censorship and media intimidation

Censorship in Belarus is prohibited by the country's constitution, but it is enforced by a number of laws. These include a law that makes insulting the president punishable by up to five years in prison, and another that makes criticizing Belarus abroad punishable by up to two years in prison.

The Belarusian government has cracked down on independent media outlets, with many journalists being forced to flee the country or face imprisonment. The government has also blocked numerous independent news websites and online platforms.

During the 2020-2021 Belarusian protests, several independent journalists were arrested in Minsk and other cities. According to a statement by the Belarusian Association of Journalists, on August 10, internal troops and government forces deliberately shot rubber bullets at independent journalists in Minsk, who wore visible jackets and had personal IDs. The editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva, also wearing a jacket, disappeared during the night but managed to send an SOS message to his wife. Several journalists, including foreigners, were injured during the suppression of the protests.

The Belarusian government has also targeted foreign journalists. In August 2020, the accreditation of several foreign journalists was revoked, and some were deported from Belarus.

The Belarusian government has also taken steps to restrict internet freedom. In August 2020, the internet in Belarus was partially blocked, with the government claiming it was due to a heavy DDoS attack. However, independent IT specialists claimed that the Belarusian state internet monopoly deliberately used deep packet inspection (DPI) technology or traffic shaping.

The Belarusian government has also targeted Wikipedia editors and contributors. In March 2022, a Wikipedia editor, Mark Bernstein, was detained in Minsk by the Belarusian Main Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime and Corruption. Pro-government Telegram channels published a video of his detention and accused him of spreading fake "anti-Russian" information about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In April 2022, a local court in Brest sentenced an active Wikipedia user, Pavel Pernikaŭ, to two years in prison for three edits on Wikipedia about censorship in Belarus and deaths during the 2020 protests.

The Belarusian government has also targeted musicians and rock bands, unofficially banning them from radio and television, revoking their concert licenses, and censoring their interviews in the media.

International sanctions and condemnation

The EU has been particularly vocal in its condemnation, rejecting the legitimacy of the 2020 election, calling for new elections, and expressing support for a "democratic" Belarus. In August 2024, the US imposed sanctions and visa restrictions to promote accountability for the Lukashenko regime and its military support for Russia. This followed earlier US sanctions in March 2023, which targeted Belarusian state-owned enterprises and government officials.

The US Department of State has designated several Belarusian networks for sanctions evasion and their role as cogs in Russia's war machine. The US has also targeted human rights abuses perpetrated by the Belarusian government, including torture, ill-treatment of detainees, and the suppression of free media. In addition, the US has revoked the authorisation of Belarus General License 2G due to human rights violations.

The international community has also responded to specific incidents, such as the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in May 2021, which resulted in the arrest of a Belarusian journalist. This incident prompted widespread condemnation and sanctions from various European countries.

The Belarusian government has denied allegations of human rights abuses and rejected calls for outside interference, claiming that foreign attempts to interfere in the country's domestic affairs are unacceptable.

Opposition leaders forced to leave Belarus

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opponent of President Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 election, was forced to leave Belarus and is currently in exile in neighbouring Lithuania. Tsikhanouskaya rejected the election results, which saw Lukashenko declared the winner, as falsified and claimed to have received 60-70% of the votes. She announced the creation of the Coordination Council, with membership open to Belarusians who agreed that the election had been falsified. In response, Lukashenko decried the council as an 'attempt to seize power' and the chief prosecutor launched a criminal case against it. Tsikhanouskaya has continued to speak out against the Belarusian government from exile, calling for international proceedings against Lukashenko and recognition of his regime as a terrorist organisation. She has also been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.

Sergei Tikhanovsky

Sergei Tikhanovsky, a businessman and blogger, initiated the 2020-2021 Belarusian protests, also known as the Slipper Revolution or the Anti-Cockroach Revolution, by comparing Lukashenko to a dictatorial insect in the children's poem *The Monster Cockroach*. Tikhanovsky travelled across Belarus, interviewing random people on his YouTube channel *Country for Life*. Most of his respondents expressed disagreement with Lukashenko and the current government. In late May 2020, he was detained by Belarusian authorities and accused of being a foreign agent. His wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, then registered as a candidate in the election after the arrest of another opposition candidate, Viktar Babaryka.

Viktar Babaryka

Viktar Babaryka was the main opposition rival to Lukashenko until he was detained by authorities in June 2020. According to CNN, Babaryka stated that the charges of bribery and corruption against him were falsified and that his arrest was politically motivated to stop him from winning the election. After Babaryka's detention, people began walking in the streets to show their disapproval, and opposition activists, protesters, journalists, and bloggers were arrested as part of the crackdown.

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