At least 136 people convicted as part of 'protest' cases in Belarus in August - Sep. 01, 2021

At least 136 people convicted as part of ‘protest’ cases in Belarus in August

Published Sept. 1, 2021. Updated Sept. 1 at 7:58 pm

Members of the Belarusian diaspora in Ukraine, covered with former national red and white flags of Belarus, march during a rally in Kyiv on August 8, 2021. The rally marks the first anniversary of anti-Lukashenko protests which began after suspected vote-rigging in the 2020 Belarus presidential election.

Photo by Oleg Petrasiuk

MINSK – At least 136 people were convicted and more than 200 were detained in Belarus last month as part of so-called protest cases, the unregistered human rights center Viasna said on Telegram on Sept. 1.

“At least 136 people were convicted as part of ‘protest’ criminal cases in August. There is also information saying that at least 209 people were detained,” Viasna said.

Around 200 non-governmental organizations had been closed or were in the process of liquidation as of the end of August, it said.

According to Viasna, more than 20 Telegram channels and social and political groups on social media platforms were designated as extremist in August.