The number of political prisoners rapidly increased in Belarus. Now near 1450. The war in Ukraine and solidarity of Belarusians and civil society grant new reasons for Lukashenka's regime. Civic activism and basic freedom of expression is under heavy prosecution.
The July 2022 Annual General Meeting of UK rail and transport union RMT - currently engaged in national strike action to defend wages, jobs and conditions on the railways - passed the following in solidarity with rail workers in Belarus, jailed for taking action in solidarity with Ukraine. Free the Belarus Railway 11
The July 2022 Annual General Meeting of UK rail and transport union RMT - currently engaged in national strike action to defend wages, jobs and conditions on the railways - passed the following in solidarity with rail workers in Belarus, jailed for taking action in solidarity with Ukraine. Free the Belarus Railway 11
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko kept himself in power by rigging elections in 2020 and then using mass arrests and terror against the movement which rose up against him. There are now about 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus, including working-class activists from the independent trade union movement which struck in opposition to Lukashenko. Belarus is closely aligned with Vladimir Putin’s Russia and allowed Russia to invade northern Ukraine in February, using Belarus as a staging post and a base. Tens of thousands of Russian troops were deployed from Belarus.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko kept himself in power by rigging elections in 2020 and then using mass arrests and terror against the movement which rose up against him. There are now about 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus, including working-class activists from the independent trade union movement which struck in opposition to Lukashenko. Belarus is closely aligned with Vladimir Putin’s Russia and allowed Russia to invade northern Ukraine in February, using Belarus as a staging post and a base. Tens of thousands of Russian troops were deployed from Belarus.