Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday, signed laws that tighten laws on protests.
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Participation in two unauthorized protests by the authorities will further threaten up to three years in prison, according to a government document published online.
“Extremist activities” or their promotion will be threatened for up to six years in prison and funding for up to five years in prison.
The independent web media “tut.by”, whose editorial office was recently searched, indicates that it is not clear which activities can be considered extremist under the new laws.
Violence against the militia or the threat of violence against the militia is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and resistance to the militia by up to three years in prison.
A new article has appeared in the Criminal Code, which provides for the disclosure of private information of militia officers or their family members for up to five years in prison.
The European Union, US, British, Swiss and Japanese delegations met with Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir McKay on Tuesday and called for an end to “inhuman treatment” of activists and independent journalists.
Belarus was taken over by mass protests, with hundreds of thousands of people outraged by the rigging of the results, reportedly following the August 9 presidential election, in which long-serving President Lukashenko was once again the winner.
The protests were brutally suppressed by the authorities and gradually subsided by the winter.
Tens of thousands of people were detained during the protests. Hundreds of protesters were injured, but several were also killed.
Lukashenko’s rival Svetlana Tihanovska, who the opposition believes is the real winner of the election, was forced to leave the country. Most of the other opposition leaders are also in prison or exile.
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