The “Belaruskali” strike committee appealed to the Norwegian company Yara, which supplies mineral fertilizers, with a request to temporarily suspend cooperation. This is due to the pressure on the employees of the Belarusian company for political reasons.

The forest walk to the drumbeat is a Minskers' reply to yesterday's detentions of their neighbors.

“A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT”

“We are very happy to be here today and to have an opportunity to discuss the situation. The situation is a little bit different from the one we had in 2014. You remember that in 2014 there was pressure as well but we came here and held a great championship together. The situation has changed a bit. When Belarus has faced problems, we have come under a lot of pressure. We have a clear position, though: as you said, we do not want to mix sport and politics. Sport should unite nations not divide them,” Rene Fasel, IIHF President, said as he met with Lukashenko.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Fazel's statement about the Ice Hockey World Championship:

“Rene Fasel’s visit to Minsk showed an inconsistency that could damage the reputation of the IIHF itself.

A sports festival cannot be held in a country where political prisoners are sitting in punishment cells a few kilometers from ice arenas. The Swiss Fasel could defend the Swiss citizen Natalia Hersche, who was sentenced by an “honest court” to 2.5 years in prison for breaking a balaclava from a riot policeman. Instead, he hesitates to make statements and calls into question his respect for the Belarusian people.

I know that many hockey players, national teams and federations of countries are not going to go to the championship, which is a cover for legal default, torture and murder. For them, as well as for us, freedom, human dignity and the law are more important than any awards. The championship should be moved from Minsk. Otherwise, I call on all national federations to boycott him.”

Dainius Kreivis, Lithuanian Energy Minister: “The plan for blocking electricity from BelNPP will be ready by the end of January”

And already from February, the Lithuanian authorities will be able to act in accordance with the plan agreed with all departments.

Also this year Lithuania is chairing the Baltic Council of Ministers. Therefore, most likely, the issue of blocking the BelNPP will be one of the main issues on the agenda of the three countries.

Valeria Smirnova was sentenced to the fine of 870 Belarusian roubles (~277 €) for participating retirees's march on December 14. She was born in 1931.

A Minsker has designed a new logo for ice hockey World Championship.

55 out of 57 members of the Minsk City Council were “elected” as delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress. Surprisingly, Olga Tsesakova and Pavel Bacharnikov, the two deputies who called on their colleagues to speak out against the violence of siloviki and went to peaceful rallies with a poster “MPs against the violence”, were deprived of the right to participate in the Congress.

Ihar Losik, blogger and political prisoner, has been on hunger strike for almost a month and asks to take his position on this.

“I beg you all - do not persuade me to stop the hunger strike and surrender. How can I seem if I have been kept in prison illegally for more than six months. I have already forgotten my daughter’s voice. I understand that my family and all concerned people are very worried about my health. But I can't and don't want to stop. I will manage my life myself, and I still have the strength. I believe in the strength of your solidarity,” Ihar Losik says in the letter.

Losik went on hunger strike after his detention was extended and a new case was opened. The political prisoner also reports that there have been troubles with letters transfer recently.

More than 60 companies from Belarus are negotiating to relocate to Lithuania, said Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė. The Minister stressed that last year actions of the Belarusian regime forced entrepreneurs to leave the country, and Lithuania had to solve complex relocation issues.

“Today Belarusian companies are already in Lithuania, and more than 60 companies are also negotiating the possibility of moving to Lithuania. Therefore, we must maintain the pace and continue improving business regulation so that we look like the most attractive in the eyes of neighboring countries and win the competition,” Aušrinė Armonaitė noted in a press release.

Since the beginning of the protests in Belarus, in addition to Epam Systems, other Belarusian IT companies have announced their plans to settle in Lithuania - Wargaming, Flo Health, Coherent Solutions, Godel Technologies.

Today Lithuania celebrates Freedom Defenders Day. Since 2011, on this day, the Lithuanian government has been presenting the Freedom Prize. The 2020 prize was awarded to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Belarusian people, who are fighting against violence and lawlessness in their country. Tsikhanouskaya will send a prize of 5,000 euros to the families of the killed peaceful protesters.

Sviatlana spoke in the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) about the role of freedom for both Belarusians and Lithuanians: “Why did brave Lithuanians sacrifice their lives 30 years ago? And why are millions of Belarusians now risking their lives? The reason is simple. They dared to walk towards freedom. The regime thinks that they can crush our spirit of freedom and our dignity by crushing us with their machines of repression. This did not happen in Lithuania and will not happen in Belarus. There is no way back.”

Belarusian journalist and media manager Andrei Alexandrov has been apprehended and is currently in the Oktyabrsky police department of Minsk, the Belarusian Journalist Association reported today.

“The police refused to disclose what Alexandrov had been apprehended over. The journalist’s lawyer is currently heading there,” the Association said. Previously, the journalist’s colleagues reported that Alexandrov went out of contact on January 12.

Alexandrov is a media sphere researcher and works as a coach in media management schools of a number of countries. Previously, he served as the Journalist Association's deputy chairman. He also worked as the BelaPAN news agency deputy CEO. In 2014, he established the Belorussky Zhurnal website, remaining its publisher and editor-in-chief to this day.

According to the Association, journalists were apprehended in Belarus for a total of 479 times. Nine journalists are currently in detention over criminal cases; besides, journalists served administrative arrests 97 times.

Yesterday, on January 12, the Oktyabrsky district court of Minsk ruled that the anti-violence address from the civil aviation workers was a “picket using the Internet computer network.” Nadezhda Bukataya, an ex-employee of Belavia, got 15 days of jail time for participating in the recording of the video. On January 11, Vladimir Galash also got 15 days of jail time for the same video. The trials regarding the address continued today as well.

Several local rallies took place in blocks of Minsk at night. In the video, “Lukashenko [should be sent] into a prisoners vehicle!” people chanting.

Belarusian independent media outlets recorded a video address.

“Since the elections in 2020, it became near impossible to work as a journalist in Belarus because of arrests, revoking of accreditations and mass media status, criminal prosecution, and beatings.

The journalists and media were fined 59.891 rubles (ca. 23.300 US dollars). There were 97 cases of journalists placed under administrative arrest. Nine representatives of media are currently in prison due to criminal charges against them.

This video covers only a small share of the stories that happened to the independent Belarusian media. This isn't how it should be.

We demand immediate release of the media representatives and political prisoners, an end to the persecution, and criminal prosecution of the people guilty of violating the rights of journalists and other citizens.”

The video is provided with English subtitles.

Heiko Maas, head of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

“Whoever treats solidarity with Belarus seriously, couldn't genuinely want to hold a World Hockey Championship there. It would be the biggest PR-present for Lukashenko and a devastating strike against the protesters. I hope the organizers will see it.”