Belarusian security services raided the offices of major human rights groups on Wednesday, arresting several activists, NGOs reported as President Alexander Lukashenko's regime continues to crack down on any protests.
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Belarusian human rights NGO Viasna said its offices in Minsk and the homes of at least five of its members across the country had been searched and several activists arrested.
Several NGOs targeted by the regime
According to Viasna, founded in 1996 and which has followed the mass arrests since the historic protest against the re-election in August 2020 of Mr. Lukashenko, other activists in Minsk and in the region have also been targeted.
In Grodno (western part of the country), officials raided Viktor Sazonov's house and "
took him with them
".
It is not known where he is now, according to the NGO.
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In Orsha, a town near the border with Russia, the authorities "
took the editor of the regional website orsha.eu and activist Igor Kazmerchak somewhere
."
Another human rights group, Lawtrend, also reported a raid.
A repression that lasts
Last week, authorities blocked access to Nacha Niva, one of the main opposition online media, and carried out a series of searches of independent and opposition newspapers and then regional media.
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The raids came the day after Viktor Babaryko, 57, one of the leading figures of the Belarusian opposition, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption.
He was considered at the time of his arrest in June 2020 as Alexander Lukashenko's most serious opponent for the presidential election.
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The authorities also arrested in late May an opposition journalist in exile, Roman Protassevich, by hijacking an airliner he was on board.
To denounce the crackdown, the European Union, the United States and other Western countries have taken sanctions against Belarusian officials and key economic sectors. Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was re-elected in August for a fifth term with officially 80% of the vote.