Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “For many years, human rights organizations in Belarus have faithfully done more than just their work. They also served for years for the State and its work: helping people with disabilities, regional activists, businesses and many others. And now the regime is being recklessly avenged by those without whom it will end even more quickly. Everyone to whom he owes the development of the country in previous years has been caught in a downward spiral of repression.
- Ales Beliatski, head of the human rights center "Viasna" is out of communication. His colleagues Vladimir Labkovich, Valentin Stefanovich, Alyona Laptenok, Andrei Paluda, Evgenia Babayeva, Oleg Matskevich, Igor Kazmerchak, Viktor Sazonov have been detained or interrogated.
- After the search, the director of Lawtrend, Olga Smolianko, a journalist and human rights defender Sergei Sys, were taken for questioning.
- They broke down the doors of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.
- The searches take place at the economist Jaroslav Romanchuk, Tamara Matskevich ("Tavaristva Belarusian school"), Sergey Matskevich (Center "Supolnastsi''"), Kirill Kofanov (Human Constanta), Nikolai Sharakh (head of the cell of the free trade union of Polotsk and a member of the Polotsk Human Rights Association).
- Searches take place at "Territory of rights", in the offices of the Legal Transformation Center Lawtrend, Ruha "For Swaboda!" United Belarusians of the world "Batskishchyna", human rights organization "Gender Perspectives", in the party BNF.
- Searches are carried out also in the charity platform "Names", Belarusian Assosiation of journalists, in the Center of Economic Research BEROC, Office of European Expertise and Communications.
Right now, that list is growing. The regime is hiding its lack of control in violence and lawlessness. His associates have already threatened civil society in response to sanctions – they hope that they can feel strong again if the country is silenced. But human rights activists, activists, and journalists know for certain: power is in the truth, and power is in the hands of the people.
I have met Ales Beliatski several times – he has fought for human rights in Belarus for many years. He himself was a political prisoner, but despite the repression, in the eyes of this man is an iron certainty that we Belarusians are doing everything right. And we’re not going to get out of our way because there used to be ones like that in our country. And now there are millions”.
