Belarus Launches Crackdown on Govt Critics Who Protested Abroad

Belarusian authorities on Wednesday made a fresh wave of arrests and property seizures targetting citizens who joined anti-government rallies abroad earlier this year, according to a report published by The Associated Press. The Investigative Committee reportedly identified at least 207 participants in events held in Poland, Lithuania, the UK, the US and Canada, which were organised to commemorate Belarusian independence declared in 1918, just after the Russian Empire’s collapse.

While there was no immediate information on the number of arrests made, reports suggest raids and detentions took place in Minsk and cities across Belarus, in a crackdown that is seen by many as part of President Alexander Lukashenko’s effort to “suppress dissent and deter freedom of speech”.

Rights Groups Speak Out

Belarus’s oldest human rights organisation, the Viasna Center, said that “dozens of activists in Belarus” were detained in this latest wave, as reported by AP. 

Calling it “the biggest wave of repression” this year, Viasna activist Pavel Sapelka told AP that to this date, nearly 1,200 people —  including Nobel Peace Prize laureate and  the group’s founder Ales Bialiatski — are being held as political prisoners. At least eight other political prisoners have reportedly died while incarcerated.

The lates wave of crackdown traces back to massive protests that started in August 2020, after Lukashenko claimed a sixth term in an election which is condemned by many as “rigged”. Reports suggest the demonstrations were the largest Belarus had ever seen. Thousands were detained and beaten, and around 500,000 reportedly fled the country. Though Lukashenko secured another term in 2025, both are deemed illegitimate by Western governments.

The West has imposed targetted sanctions on various Belarusian leaders and institutions.

Opposition Forces Rally Abroad

Meanwhile, exiled Belarusian opposition groups have scheduled a rally in Warsaw this weekend, marking the fifth anniversary of the nationwide protests. The country’s Foreign Ministry summoned Poland’s charge d’affaires and issued a diplomatic note condemning the gathering as “destructive” and hostile to Belarus-Poland relations, as reported by AP.