Collage series dedicated to the events 2020 in Minsk - Artist: Carolina Poliakowa Top Stories Aug 16: Belarusian activist who slit his own throat in court gets lengthy prison term Political prisoner Stsiapan Latypau was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison and a $4,000 fine on Monday, as the prosecution requested. Latypau pleaded not guilty to all charges. Earlier, he attempted suicide in the courtroom, alleging pressure to enter a guilty plea under threats of retaliation to his family.

Project Cell #18 is a collection of stories from Akrestina prison where 36 women were kept in a 4-person cell for days without access to food, water or clean air Top Stories Aug 12: Belarus to get $1 billion from IMF, undermining U.S. push Belarus’s authoritarian regime is set to get almost a $1 billion lifeline from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on August 23. The IMF insists that its actions are guided by the international community, which “continues to deal with the current government in Belarus”.

August 9 marks one year anniversary of peaceful protests movement in Belarus Top Stories Aug 2: Poland grants Belarus Olympic sprinter Tsimanouskaya a humanitarian visa Krystina Tsimanouskaya, who narrowly escaped a forced return to Belarus from the Tokyo Olympics, has been granted a humanitarian visa in Poland. The sprinter’s place on the Olympic team was abruptly revoked after she criticized the Belarusian athletics federation on her social media. The Team Belarus’ personnel escorted her to the airport, where she narrowly escaped boarding the flight by turning to Japanese police.

Here are scripts you can use when you call the offices of your elected officials to ask them to join their respective Belarus Caucuses. Call the Washington, DC office. When you call, ask to speak with the foreign policy advisor. If they are unavailable, leave a message with the Receptionist asking the Representative to join the Caucus. If you get voice mail, leave a message. Thank you! Use this link to find your Representative and Senators and their contact information:

August 9, 2021, marks one year since the infamous 2020 presidential election, which became a turning point in Belarusian history. Belarusians around the world commemorate the beginning of the peaceful pro-democracy movement it sparked. One year ago today, millions of brave Belarusians chose to stand up to a dictatorship and defend democracy in the voting booths across the country and elect Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as the next president of Belarus. Hundreds of thousands then took to the streets to protect their votes, despite the prospect of getting jailed, tortured, or even murdered.

This past week: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya meets President Biden, Belarusian Olympic sprinter is being forcibly removed from the Olympics and sent home & much more Top Stories Aug 1: Belarusian Olympic sprinter says she is being pressured to leave Tokyo after criticizing her country’s Olympic officials Krystsina Tsimanouskaya who was due to compete in the women’s 200m event on Monday, had complained on social media about being asked to run a different race at a short notice.

In light of the recent unprecedented crackdown on independent media and civil society in Belarus, the Belarus Freedom Forum urges the U.S. government on behalf of Belarusian American Communities to impose economic sanctions to put an end to political repressions. in Belarus. We are grateful for the U.S. government’s decision to join the European Union in its latest effort to sanction individuals responsible for state repressions as well as state-owned companies funding the regime.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visits Washington DC to seek help from US, while Belarus’ regime brutal crackdown on civil society continues Top Stories Jul 19: Blinken meets Belarus opposition leader as criticism against Lukashenka mounts US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and promised “to continue efforts to stand with the Belarusian people and their aspirations for human rights, democracy, and their broader Euro-Atlantic aspirations.” The meeting happened in the context of yet another series of crackdowns on the democratic opposition by the Lukashenka regime.

The Honorable Janet Yellen Secretary of the U.S. Treasury U.S. Governor to the IMF Dear Madam Treasury Secretary, It came to our attention that the International Monetary Fund Executive Board is working on a new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation, and Belarus is neither excluded from the new allocation nor prevented from accessing its future SDR holdings. We hope the United States exercises its veto power and prevents access to SDRs by an illegitimate government the United States does not recognize.

Vertical of Power - Artist: Lilia Kvatsabaya Top Stories Jul 14: Belarus targets rights activists, journalists with raids More than 40 raids took place across Belarus targeting the Human Rights center Viasna, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the Belarusian Association of Journalists and others. Law enforcement raided groups that work on a wide range of human rights issues, including human rights education, social and economic rights, protection of media workers, freedom of expression online etc.