A father and son are holed up in the Swedish Embassy in Minsk, where they took refuge in September 2020 from Belarusian security forces after joining pro-democracy protests. The Swedish authorities say the two men cannot claim political asylum at the embassy.
Marches by senior citizens have become a regular feature on the streets of Minsk. They are boosting anti-government protests that have occurred daily since the August 9 Belarusian presidential election, which was widely seen as rigged. As one participant put it: "If they arrest me, I'll be proud."
A man has given Current Time a harrowing account of being raped by police in Belarus after being detained in August. He has provided a medical report backing up his story. We have disguised his voice to protect his identity.
The western city of Hrodna has been a microcosm of the political crisis that has engulfed Belarus after protests erupted over a presidential election widely seen as rigged.
People marched through the center of the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on August 23, two weeks after the country's disputed presidential election. An estimated 100,000 joined the protest against result of the vote, in which the incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory despite irregularities.
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has left her country, apparently under duress, amid a wave of protests against the alleged falsification of the country's recent presidential election. Western governments have criticized both the election and a crackdown by security forces.
