Newsletter: Dec 21-28

BELARUS

Dec 21: 40 days since the murder of Raman Bandarenka. No criminal case is yet opened. Minsk resident Raman Bandarenka passed away on November 12 at the age of 31. Allegedly, he was beaten to death by pro-Lukashenka thugs and/or police officers. Events in memory of Raman Bandarenka are held all over Belarus.

Dec 21: Belarus authorities set up database of participants in ‘unauthorised rallies’. On the back of ‘the events of August 9’, the ministry decided to establish a special unified database which would include information about the citizens identified or detained during unauthorised mass events so that Belarusian law enforcers could widely use the data collected in their work.

Dec 22: The name of the alleged killer of Aliaksandr Taraikouski has been revealed. The initiative “Belarusian People’s Tribunal” has shared a report on the results of a preliminary investigation into the circumstances of the death of Aliaksandr Taraikouski. According to BNT, the person responsible is Mikita Karovin, an Almaz special unit fighter.

Dec 23: 2,500 computers of the Ministry of Justice of Belarus hacked by Cyberpartisans. A video appeared online which shows a strange video clip playing on one of the monitors in the Department of Compulsory Enforcement of Lahoisk district. According to the Belarus of the Brain telegram channel, it’s not an isolated incident, as at least 2500 computers of the Ministry of Justice have been attacked. This video appeared on all the monitors online at the same time and it was impossible to close it.

Dec 24: Double fines, community service and longer arrests for protestors. Deputies of the House of Representatives have adopted the new Code of Administrative Offenses. So far, the document has not been officially published, but lawyers believe that the new law will become tougher. The maximum fine will be increased from 30 to 100 base units, and the warning will be canceled. A repeated violation of this article provides for a fine even up to 200 basic units.

Dec 25: Belarusian Judges start to quit. Most of them had been involved in political trials. 5 judges have voluntarily quit their jobs, full list of judges can be seen here.

Dec 27: Kremlin creating pro-Putin party in Belarus. Russian magazine The Insider has obtained documents claiming that Russia is going to fully intervene in the internal politics of Belarus. The Kremlin has prepared options for constitutional reform, and is also going to create a new political party. Documents came from the President’s Office for Interregional and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, headed by foreign intelligence General Vladimir Chernov. In addition, the paper talks about Russian plans to create its own channels for the dissemination of propaganda information, such as media, Telegram channels and YouTube channels.

Dec 27: March of Balloons: 21st protest Sunday in Belarus. For over 140 days, Belarusians have been taking to the streets to protest against the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Despite snow and frost, the first columns were spotted in the Belarusian capital city at the crack of dawn. The rallies are being staged in the so-called decentralised format. People gather in their neighbourhoods and then move to the places previously defined in local chats. As a result, pro-government forces have more difficulty dispersing protesters who scattered all over the city. Under 20 detained.

INTERNATIONAL

Dec 21: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya launched the Peoples Tribunal. Peoples Tribunal is a system for recording evidence of the Lukashenko regime’s crimes, to ensure accountability for Human Rights violations in Belarus. The platform will allow users to upload photos and videos exhibiting the illegal actions of the security forces, which could one day be used as evidence in a trial. Tsikhanouskaya also promised an amnesty for law enforcement officers who report the crimes of their colleagues.

Dec 21: US Senate passes the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020. The bill gives additional authority to the President of the United States to impose new sanctions on the back of the stealing of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus and the brutal crackdown on post-election protests. The document will come into force only after it is signed by the President.

Dec 22: Spain and Belarus. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Minister of Foreign Affairs European Union & Cooperation of Spain Arancha Gonzalez in Madrid. Spain shares the EU’s message of support for the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people and calls on the parties to hold an inclusive national dialogue. Tsikhanouskaya was also welcomed to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Congress of Deputies and spoke to Pedro Sánchez, the President of the Government. Sánchez expressed solidarity and support to Belarusians. Spain did not recognize Lukashenka and the official results of the presidential election in Belarus.

 

Dec 23: Poland and Belarus. Lukashenka’s Security Forces testify in the case of torture of polish citizens in Belarus. According to rmf24.pl, the Polish Internal Security Agency interrogated new witnesses in connection with the investigation into the detention, beating, and torture of three Poles after the presidential elections in Belarus.

Dec 23: US sanctions Belarus OMON, Central Election Commission and internal troops. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated one individual and four entities for their roles in the fraudulent August 9, 2020, presidential election in Belarus and the subsequent violent crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests.

Dec 25: United States congressmen called to deny Minsk the right to host Hockey World Cup 2021. Members of the U.S. Congress and European parliamentarians wrote an open letter to the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) demanding to deprive Minsk of the right to host the next World Championship.

Dec 25: Accounts of “Belarus” sanatorium in Lithuania are arrested because of sanctions. The Lithuanian sanatorium is part of Lukashenka’s administration. Lithuanian Swedbank blocked the account of the “Belarus” sanatorium (Sanatorija “Belorus”), located in Druskininkai. This is reported by respublika.lt.