Category: belarusian

Belarus Athlete Enters Poland’s Embassy in Tokyo After Refusing to Return Home

TOKYO—A Belarusian athlete at the center of an Olympic standoff with her own country walked into Poland’s embassy in Japan on Monday, a day after refusing to board a flight home she said she was being forced to take against her wishes by her team. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, would seek asylum in Poland, said a…


Poland Grants Visa to Belarus Olympian Who Fears for Safety

TOKYO—Poland granted a visa Monday to a Belarusian Olympic sprinter who said she feared for her safety and that her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home, where the autocratic government was accused of diverting a flight to arrest a dissident journalist. An activist group that is helping athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya told The…


Belarus Police Raid Homes and Offices of Journalists, Rights Activists

KYIV—Belarusian police searched the offices and homes of journalists and human rights activists for the third successive day on Friday, extending what rights activists say is a new crackdown on opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko. The Poland-based Nexta Live channel said the office of U.S. broadcaster Radio Liberty in the capital Minsk was among those…


Belarus Introduces Prison Sentences for Taking Part in Protests

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday signed into law prison sentences for people taking part in protests or insulting state officials, part of an unprecedented crackdown by the veteran leader since a disputed election last year. In a series of amendments to the criminal code, Lukashenko also for the first time introduced a four-year prison…


Belarusian Editor Detained Amid Crackdown on Journalists

KYIV, Ukraine—The chief editor of a popular Internet news site in one of Belarus’ largest cities was detained and his residence searched amid a crackdown on independent journalists and opponents of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Police said Sunday they were investigating Hrodna.life editor Aliaksei Shota on suspicion of extremism. The publication focuses on Belarus’ fifth-largest…


Belarus Jails Journalist for Revealing ‘Medical Secrets’ in Protester’s Death

KYIV—A Belarusian court sentenced a journalist to six months in prison on Tuesday for divulging medical secrets, after she contradicted official statements about the death of a protester who the authorities suggested was drunk at the time. Katerina Borisevich from the local news outlet TUT.BY had reported that there was no alcohol in the bloodstream…