Press Release Jun 24, 2024 HRF submits joint petition to UNWGAD for Belarusian activist Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk In late May, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and the Human Rights Center Viasna (Viasna) submitted a joint petition to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) on behalf of well-known Belarusian pro-democracy activist Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk.
Op-Ed Jan 31, 2024 Alexander Lukashenko’s reign of terror continues in Belarus On Tuesday, the Belarusian KGB descended on the apartments and offices of at least 159 friends and family of political prisoners in a “massive security raid.” At least 100 people were interrogated and at least 26 were arrested on politically motivated charges.
Blog Post Aug 9, 2023 Honoring the Voices of the 2020 Belarusian Protests Today marks three years since the Belarusian people overwhelmingly voted against Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule and in favor of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate, only to have Lukashenko impose himself by way of fraud and crush the ensuing protests.
Blog Post Apr 28, 2023 How Alexander Lukashenko Targets the Women of Belarus They stood in rows, all dressed in red and white — the colors of the independent Belarusian flag, used by the opposition and banned by Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. The sight of hundreds of women peacefully marching in protest would become an enduring symbol in Belarus in 2020.
Blog Post Jan 11, 2023 Meet HRF Freedom Fellow Volya Vysotskaia Meet HRF Freedom Fellow Volya Vysotskaia, a Belarusian human rights activist who exposes repression and torture by state officials.
Blog Post Jan 11, 2023 Trials in Absentia: Lukashenko’s Latest Act of Repression The anti-government protests in Belarus over the last two years may have died down, but the country remains marred by violent repression and the clamping down on dissidents.
Announcement Oct 8, 2022 OFF Speakers Oleksandra Matviichuk & Ales Bialiatski Awarded Nobel Peace Prize Today, Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, Belarus’ Ales Bialiatski, and Russia’s Memorial were awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Blog Post Aug 9, 2022 Why We Must Remember Belarus in 2022 Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus. During this election, the people of Belarus made it clear that they reject the presidency of Alexander Lukashenko — a brutal dictator who has ruled the country since 1994 — by voting instead for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and choosing a free and democratic path for their country.
Blog Post Aug 1, 2022 Resident Artist Spotlight: Lilia Kvatsabaya In August 2020, Lilia Kvatsabaya, a Belarusian graphic design student, found herself amid the largest protests in the country’s history.
Blog Post Jul 20, 2022 Belarus’ Lukashenko is Challenging International Norms. We Must Stop Him. Entire cities besieged and razed to the ground, millions of people displaced, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of destruction, and, most tragically, thousands of people killed and grieving lost loved ones — that is a reality for millions of Ukrainians whose country was invaded by Russia’s Vladimir Putin almost five months ago.
Publication May 24, 2022 Rally for Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a former presidential candidate and the leader of the national democratic movement in Belarus. According to unofficial results, she received the most votes in Belarus’ presidential election in August 2020.
Publication Nov 16, 2021 A Free Belarus on the Horizon A conversation between Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and HRF Chairman Garry Kasparov about how dictator Alexander Lukashenko stole the 2020 presidential election, how Belarus rose up, and how she has been advocating around the world for the release of political prisoners, an end to political violence, and free and fair elections in Belarus.
Publication Aug 6, 2020 Tyga Cancels Belarus Concert Criticized as “Propaganda Stunt” Rapper Tyga has been urged by the Human Rights Foundation to cancel a concert in Belarus organized by its “dictator” ruler and due to take place the night before a presidential election.