President Lukashenko of Belarus is also known as ‘the last dictator of Europe’; serious opposition parties seldom participate in national elections, and if they do their members are locked up.

The presidential elections last August were again contested. Lukashenko won an overwhelming majority despite the popularity of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. There have been ongoing demonstrations against the current regime since the elections. Students and teaching faculty also carried out all kinds of peaceful protests.

But they pay a high price for it, Amnesty International warns in a new report. Figures put out by the independent Belarusian Students’ Association reveal that 480 students have already been detained during the current academic year because of their activism.

Assault

Some students were arrested during demonstrations, others were raised from their beds at home by police. One student was so seriously assaulted at the police station that he fainted, he told Amnesty.

Dozens of students are facing criminal charges and at least five students have already been handed a prison sentence varying between eighteen months and four years. A faculty member at the Belarusian State University for Informatics and Radioelectronics is being held in a detention centre because she took part in the protests.

Some students received a fine of about 180 euros. In comparison: the average monthly salary in Belarus is 420 euros.

In addition, around 150 students were dismissed by their universities. Last year Lukashenko called on universities to de-enrol students who took part in the protests. The army seemed to him a more suitable place for these so-called ‘terrorists’.

Strangulation

That the government has aimed its attacks on politically active students and university teachers is not news, according to Amnesty International. “However, the scale of the harassment, persecution and violence against them is unprecedented in Belarus’ post-independence history.”

Amnesty is demanding that Belarusian authorities “end the repression against students, academics and all peaceful protesters”. It is also calling on the student associations and student leaders in other countries to show solidarity. They should ask their governments to put pressure on the Lukashenko government in order to “end the strangulation of public life, of academic life, of the brightest youth in the country”. The human rights organisation has also started a campaign on social media with the hashtag #StandWithBelarus.

Airplane

Belarusian authorities again drew international public ire last weekend. They forced a European Ryanair plane to land in Minsk so that they could arrest an activist journalist. Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte said that European government leaders will be announcing sanctions against Belarus.