Luzia Tschirky, a Swiss journalist, told about her yesterday's detention in Minsk:
“I wanted to have a coffee with a friend in Minsk. I am legally staying in the country with a visa and accreditation. We were waiting for traffic lights to turn green. Men in black masks dragged us into a black minibus without explanation. I was released after three hours. My acquaintance and her husband were detained for more than six hours and then taken to the detention center. People were tortured in the same building in August. My Belarusian friends are trying to calm me down, but I'm so worried about my friend and her husband. They will be brought to justice tomorrow. Her phones have been confiscated. Nobody told them what they dragged them off the street together with me today. Belarus is the country where people cannot wait at traffic lights.”
“I wanted to have a coffee with a friend in Minsk. I am legally staying in the country with a visa and accreditation. We were waiting for traffic lights to turn green. Men in black masks dragged us into a black minibus without explanation. I was released after three hours. My acquaintance and her husband were detained for more than six hours and then taken to the detention center. People were tortured in the same building in August. My Belarusian friends are trying to calm me down, but I'm so worried about my friend and her husband. They will be brought to justice tomorrow. Her phones have been confiscated. Nobody told them what they dragged them off the street together with me today. Belarus is the country where people cannot wait at traffic lights.”
Besides the talk with deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Julie Fischer, the US Ambassador to Belarus, held a meeting with Pavel Latushka to learn about the important work done by the People's Anticrisis Management. The diplomats discussed many topics, including the US support for Belarus and the Act on Democracy in Belarus.
Four employees of the Symbal.by store were sentenced by the court to 20 days of arrest for “picketing by placing products with symbols on the counter.”
These people are witnesses for today's trial of a person charged with gross hooliganism. They are military members who “ensured order” at the protests. They came to court wearing balaclavas and sunglasses and spoke under fake names.
The accused is the person who was run over by a police van. He is accused of damaging a police vehicle.
The accused is the person who was run over by a police van. He is accused of damaging a police vehicle.
Yesterday Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met Julie Fischer, the US Ambassador to Belarus.
“It is a great honor to greet the new US Ambassador to Belarus. Friendship with the US matters a lot to the Belarusian nation and its drive towards the democratic future,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
Julie Fischer confirmed that “the United States will continue to stand for the people of Belarus and those around the world who face tremendous brutality as they exercise their fundamental freedoms”, through the Twitter account of the embassy in Minsk.
“It is a great honor to greet the new US Ambassador to Belarus. Friendship with the US matters a lot to the Belarusian nation and its drive towards the democratic future,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
Julie Fischer confirmed that “the United States will continue to stand for the people of Belarus and those around the world who face tremendous brutality as they exercise their fundamental freedoms”, through the Twitter account of the embassy in Minsk.
Russia loses billions of rubles every year on smuggling and re-export of goods from Belarus. A joint investigation by Proekt, BelSat and Naviny.by shows that Moscow turns a blind eye to the problem, allowing companies associated with the Belarusian authorities to make money.
Why did Russia cover up cigarette smuggling?
How the Belarusian authorities make money on illegal tobacco
How Belarus became a flower paradise
The real beneficiaries of flower imports
Read the full story: https://www.voiceofbelarus.com/belarusian-products-expensi…/
Why did Russia cover up cigarette smuggling?
How the Belarusian authorities make money on illegal tobacco
How Belarus became a flower paradise
The real beneficiaries of flower imports
Read the full story: https://www.voiceofbelarus.com/belarusian-products-expensi…/
The newly appointed United States Ambassador to Belarus Julie D. Fisher had a meeting with a co-founder of Belarus Solidarity Foundation Jaroslav Likhachevskiy this morning in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Madam Ambassador asked a co-founder of BYSOL what in his opinion makes the current situation in Belarus different from what was happening in 2004 and 2010. “Technologies,” said Jaroslav Likhachevskiy, “the IT-technologies allowed us to unite Belarusian not only inside of the country but all over the world, as well. They also provided us an opportunity to financially support the civil society and human rights activists inside of Belarus in a safe way, untraceable for the regime.”
Fisher was impressed by the solidarity of the Belarusian diaspora in the USA. Belarusians from Boston, NY, Seattle, California, LA, and Florida support the grassroots initiatives and strike committees in Belarus, as well as run several peer-to-peer support projects.
BYSOL (Belarus Solidarity) Foundation supports democracy and civil society in Belarus. During the last 7 months, supported the strike committees on the major factories (€742.500), social initiatives of different professional and local groups (over €143.000), political prisoners (over €27.000), people fired for their political views (€1.95M), and other groups and individuals who contributed to the future of the democratic society. BYSOL supports “Pray for Belarus” media channels also.
You can support the Foundation via Facebook fundraiser: https://www.facebook.com/donate/466331144363100/
Madam Ambassador asked a co-founder of BYSOL what in his opinion makes the current situation in Belarus different from what was happening in 2004 and 2010. “Technologies,” said Jaroslav Likhachevskiy, “the IT-technologies allowed us to unite Belarusian not only inside of the country but all over the world, as well. They also provided us an opportunity to financially support the civil society and human rights activists inside of Belarus in a safe way, untraceable for the regime.”
Fisher was impressed by the solidarity of the Belarusian diaspora in the USA. Belarusians from Boston, NY, Seattle, California, LA, and Florida support the grassroots initiatives and strike committees in Belarus, as well as run several peer-to-peer support projects.
BYSOL (Belarus Solidarity) Foundation supports democracy and civil society in Belarus. During the last 7 months, supported the strike committees on the major factories (€742.500), social initiatives of different professional and local groups (over €143.000), political prisoners (over €27.000), people fired for their political views (€1.95M), and other groups and individuals who contributed to the future of the democratic society. BYSOL supports “Pray for Belarus” media channels also.
You can support the Foundation via Facebook fundraiser: https://www.facebook.com/donate/466331144363100/
Belarusian solidarity abroad as it was seen yesterday: Tallinn, San Francisco, Boston, Torun, Munich, Bonn, Berlin, Seattle, Sidney, Taiwan.