The social network platform “Twitter” has suspended the accounts of the exiled opposition group, which calls itself the embassies of the Belarusian people.
The groups were formed after last year’s presidential elections in Belarus, in which long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the winner. The opposition believes the election was fraudulent and in fact won by opposition candidate Sviatlan Cihanouska.
Extensive protests broke out in Belarus after the elections, which were brutally suppressed. Hundreds of people were imprisoned. Activists complain of torture during detention and inhumane treatment.
Along with the protests, the Belarusian exile movement also grew.
Exile groups that see Cihanousku as an election winner and legitimate president of Belarus claim that their social media accounts act as Belarusian people’s embassies.
“Although the regime is illegitimate, we never claimed to be official embassies,” a group of the People’s Embassy in Germany said. “We represent the people, not the regime.”
The group sent reporters and activists a screenshot of an email they received from Twitter. The letter said the group account violated Twitter’s rules, especially those regarding identity theft.
There is no evidence that the Belarusian authorities reported three accounts to Twitter: @BelarusinS, @BelarusInUK and @BelarusInDE, representing groups in Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany. All three groups of accounts have been suspended. However, Belarus has begun to crack down on activists in exile.-
The main attraction was the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk to detain a critic of the regime, Roman Protasevich.
“The Lukashenko regime is trying to silence anyone who dares to speak the truth or fight it,” an opposition group said.
Twitter has not commented on this.
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