Human rights in Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has urged law enforcement agencies to deploy armed patrols on the streets of the country's cities to bolster public safety, according to Reuters reports.

Poland blames Belarusian regime for encouraging illegal immigrants to fly to Belarus promising entrance into the EU just as Turkey did in 2020 at the Greek borders

Hope for de-escalating the crisis, which has seen thousands camping in desperate conditions on the border for weeks, had been mounting in recent days, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko twice by phone.

A top American diplomat told Congress on Wednesday that the Biden administration plans to impose additional sanctions on the authoritarian regime in Belarus — a significant step as lawmakers agitate for tougher punishments against a top ally of Vladimir Putin.

The United States and western European members of the U.N. Security Council called on May 26 for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to investigate Belarus' diversion of a European flight and arrest of a dissident on board.

Their call came hours after a defiant President Alexander Lukashenko on May 26 defended the action, lashing out at critics at home and abroad.

Ljubljana – Foreign Minister Anže Logar expressed Slovenia’s full support for the fight for democracy in Belarus as he hosted on Monday Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The latter called for further support for the movement and for its cause to remain high on the EU agenda.

Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu participated on Friday in the presentation of the preliminary oral report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on the human rights situation in Belarus and, reiterating in his remarks Romania's concern by the continuous violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the authorities in Belarus.

Protesters formed human chains and marched through the streets of Belarus carrying flowers on Aug. 12 in anger at a crackdown by strongman President Alexander Lukashenko that has prompted the European Union to consider new sanctions against Minsk.    

The Belarusian foreign minister said on July 25 that the attack which wounded the country's diplomat in Ankara was not politically motivated.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic will travel to Belarus on Thursday for a working visit, his cabinet announced on Tuesday.

Nikolic will meet with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who will present him with the Order of Friendship of Nations.