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Minsk, Belarus -TELEGRAM / Želtye
Slivy
"My name is Sapega, Sofia Adrejewna."
The latest so-called »confession video« from Belarus shows the imprisoned girlfriend of the blogger Roman Protasewitsch.
She says - probably not voluntarily - that she ran a social media channel that released personal information about Belarusian law enforcement officers - which is a criminal offense in Belarus.
The regime in Minsk is trying to fight back on the social media channel Telegram - because this is where its most influential opponents operate.
Warsaw, Poland
The Telegram channel "Nexta" operates from this intersection in Warsaw.
The name - the Belarusian word for "someone" - is supposed to symbolize all Belarusians who want change and have had enough of Lukashenko.
It is now the most influential mouthpiece of the protest movement - and is therefore at risk.
Stepan Putilo, head of the “Nexta” channel “
Immediately after the incident with Roman we received hundreds, now there are more than a thousand, threats.
Threats that they will shoot us, that a bomb will be planted in our office - and that they will not even bring us to Belarus for this like Roman.
Of course, that's worrying.
But we're used to it. "
A year ago, the now imprisoned Roman Protasevich was the channel's editor-in-chief.
The Telegram channel became the most important source of information for Lukashenko's opponents - and was used as a coordination tool during demonstrations.
»Nexta live« publishes news, videos and pictures that Belarusians send anonymously to the team.
Stepan Putilo runs the canal. As a 17-year-old schoolboy, he published his first song of ridicule about Lukashenko on the YouTube channel “Nexta” - “We have no choice”. Later, a case of insulting the president was also opened against him. That is why Putilo has lived in Warsaw since 2018. The regime threatens him too with a sentence of up to 15 years in prison - the accusation is the same as against Protasevich: the alleged organization of mass unrest.
Stepan Putilo, head of the “Nexta” channel “
They called us extremists and terrorists in order to deter people from giving us information. We got used to it, so did the people. But even here abroad we work under constant pressure. There is always the fear that something bad will happen, that there will be some kind of provocation. "
Minsk, Belarus
Meanwhile, the independent Belarusian online medium TUT.BY has been blocked in Minsk - here recordings of the protest action.
The editorial offices were searched and employees were temporarily detained.
Jewgenia Tschernjawskaja, TUT.BY owner
»Every time we hit a new low. Now is one of those again. A fighter jet that forces a Ryanair plane to land because there is allegedly a Hamas bomb on board - it's all just unbelievable. It's more than a low point. It shows the mental state of those who rule this country. "
Employees of the online medium TUT.BY were arrested regularly after reporting on protests against the government and police violence.
Because of such a report, Katya Baryssewitsch was sentenced to six months in prison in February.
According to a report by Belarusian media workers, 477 journalists are said to have been arrested in the country in 2020 alone.
Mogilev, Belarus May 25, 2021
"Belarus will be free - we will win," chant these pro-democratic activists arrested on Wednesday. The opposition faces up to seven years in prison for organizing mass unrest. You haven't given up yet.
