Topic - Viasna

The Viasna Human Rights Centre is a human rights organization based in Minsk, Belarus. The organization aims to provide financial and legal assistance to political prisoners and their families, and was founded in 1996 by activist Ales Bialatski in response to large-scale repression of demonstrations by the government of Alexander Lukashenko. - Source: Wikipedia

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FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Three activists of Viasna, the main human rights group in Belarus, have been arrested and charged with participating in an extremist organization, state television reported Thursday, April 4. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)

3 human rights activists arrested in Belarus as a crackdown on the opposition persists

Associated Press

In this handout photo from the Viasna Human Rights Center, Leanid Sudalenka, an activist from Belarus, holds portraits of imprisoned journalists Larysa Shchyrakova and Yauhen Merkis, in Belostok, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. Sudalenka, who was imprisoned for three years in Belarus, said authorities there hold political prisoners in conditions amounting to "torture." He told The Associated Press that when he was in a Belarusian penal colony, he nearly died from COVID-19 and a lack of medical care. (Viasna Human Rights Center via AP)

Belarus political prisoners face abuse, no medical care and isolation, former inmate says

By Yuras Karmanau - Associated Press

FILE - Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian Viasna rights group, stands in a defendants' cage during a court session in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 2, 2011. Belarusian authorities Wednesday Aug. 23, 2023 declared the country's oldest and most prominent human rights group an extremist organization. The move against Viasna, founded by imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatksi, comes amid a yearslong crackdown on dissent in Belarus and exposes anyone involved in its activities to criminal prosecution. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

Belarus outlaws prominent rights group Viasna, declaring it extremist

By Yuras Karmanau - Associated Press

Belarusian riot police detain a demonstrator during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. The Belarusian human rights group Viasna says more than 140 people have been arrested and many of them beaten by police during protests calling for the country's authoritarian president to resign. The demonstrations that attracted thousands were the 16th consecutive Sunday of large protests against President Alexander Lukashenko. (AP Photo)

More than 300 detained by police in Belarus protests

Associated Press