On behalf of Belarusian Americans Communities, the Belarus Freedom Forum urges the U.S. government to implement the most robust economic sanctions to stop the escalation of political repressions in Belarus. We appreciate what the U.S. government has done already: personal sanctions on those responsible for violence and human rights violations and the recent announcement about sanctions on nine Belarusian state-controlled companies. Yet, these personal sanctions and announced economic sanctions have not been enough.

Svetlana is My President (left); Demonstration (right) - Artist: Rufina Bazlova Top Stories Israeli phone hacking firm stops sales to Belarus and Russia Cellebrite, an Israeli digital intelligence company, decided to cease business relations with the Russian and Belarusian governments. Reports have surfaced that the state security forces use Celebrite software to spy on political opposition. The company announcement underlines its desire to operate “according to accepted international rules and regulations.

Older people impacted by Belarus state repression - read in Other. Top Stories Soft annexation: Inside the Russian takeover of Belarus Russia is getting plans underway for the takeover of Belarus. Unlike Georgia and Ukraine, the strategy is not to use military operations but instead rely on economic methods to achieve similar goals. By forcing tighter integration and absorbing key Belarusian assets, Russia is executing a soft annexation policy in “plain sight”.

Let’s help people find and kick bandits out of the city. Artwork, Minsk. BELARUS Mar 22: “He cut my underwear. Then he did what he did”. They wanted democracy. Instead they say they were beaten and raped by police CNN conducted dozens of interviews with the Belarusian protesters who went through the persecutions and torture. A blood-chilling story of Sergei, the Belarusian who was detained, beaten, arrested, and fearing the subsequent imminent arrest had to flee the country illegally crossing the Belarus-Ukraine border.

BELARUS Artivism before Freedom Day near the building of the National Art Museum in Minsk Mar 15: Multinational firms under pressure to break ties with Belarus International firms like the German giant engineering company Siemens and Norwegian agro-giant Yara are increasingly the targets of massive online criticism campaigns over their business in Belarus. Their social media has been swamped with appeals not to “support violence and torture in Belarus” and stop dealing with the dictator.

BELARUS Belarusian facial recognition software tracks dissidents Mar 08: Belarus opposition leader calls for global action, not words Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled leader of the Belarusian opposition, is appealing to the Western democracies “to prove that human rights is not just words for them.” The UN Human Rights Council is expected to adopt a resolution on the crisis in Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya would like the resolution to create a group of experts to monitor deteriorating conditions in Belarus.

President Biden and members of the U.S. Congress, On behalf of the Belarusian Americans Communities, we call on President Biden and members of the U.S. Congress to make public statements on March 25, 2021, in a show of solidarity with the Belarusian people fighting for freedom against Lukashenka’s ruthless regime and for independence of their country. We urge President Biden and members of the U.S. Congress to recognize March 25 as the Belarusian Independence Day and the white-red-white flag as the symbol of Belarusian independence and sovereignty.

BELARUS March 8: International Women’s Day Mar 1: Belarus enforces harsher penalties for protesting. Starting March 1, the Belarusian regime adopted new laws that significantly increase fines and introduce lengthier prison sentences for participating in unauthorized protests. Mar 2: Authoritarians emboldened by weak international response to the events in Belarus. While the EU, UK, and US offered their support to the opposition and have imposed personal sanctions against leading figures of the regime, the limited sanctions have not produced a significant impact.

BELARUS Victim of politically motivated case is facing up to death penalty in charges Feb 22: Man is facing possible death sentence for driving away from security forces. Alexander Trocki, former deputy chairman of the board of JSC MTBank and director of Aliko-Trade company is accused of attempted murder of an employee of the internal affairs bodies. On Aug 12, Trocki’s car was stopped by unidentified security forces in balaclavas, who threatened him with a gun and began hitting his car.

BELARUS Journalists sentenced to prison Feb 15: Belarus targets journalists, activists in new raids. Authorities in Belarus raided homes and offices of journalists and human rights activists Tuesday in the latest move to squelch protests against authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Police searched the offices of the Belarusian Association of Journalists and the Viasna human rights center as well as the apartments of its members, confiscating their equipment. More than 30 people were briefly detained, and at least three remained in police custody, according to the activists.