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Okrestina
Okrestina Detention Centre, Akrestsina Detention Centre, officially, the Criminal Detention Centre of the Minsk Executive Committee’s Main Internal Affairs Directorate (, ), is a pre-trial detention centre in Minsk, Belarus. The prison is known as a detention centre for activists of the Belarusian opposition arrested during mass protests against the government of president Alexander Lukashenko. On 21 June 2021, the U.S. Treasury has added Okrestina Detention Centre to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. Name The prison is most commonly referred by its informal name Okrestina () or Akrestsina (, official transliteration: Akrescina) derived from the name of the street where it is located (which is in turn named after Soviet WWII ground-attack pilot, hero of the Soviet Union ). Torture According to numerous reports, many protesters arrested during the 2020 Belarusian protests, are tortured in Okrestina by soldiers of the OMON. Many were beaten and in s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making him the List of current state leaders by date of assumption of office, current longest-serving European leader. Before embarking on his political career, Lukashenko worked as the director of a state farm (''sovkhoz'') and served in both the Soviet Border Troops and the Soviet Army. In 1990, Lukashenko was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he assumed the position of head of the interim anti-corruption committee of the Supreme Council of Belarus. In 1994, he won the presidency in the country's 1994 Belarusian presidential election, inaugural presidential election after the adoption of a new Constitution of Belarus, constitution. Lukashenko opposed Shock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minsk City Police Department
The Minsk City Police Department ( Belarusian: Галоўнае ўпраўленне ўнутраных спраў Мінскага Гарвыканкама; Russian: Главное управление внутренних дел Минского Горисполкома) officially known as the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of the Minsk City Executive Committee is the main municipal police force in the Belarusian capital of Minsk with responsibilities that include law enforcement and investigation in the city. Minsk has the largest number of police officers per-capita among the post-Soviet republics. It is also one of the most active police forces in Belarus due to Minsk being the center of many protests and arrests. History The department was founded as the Main Directorate of the Workers 'and Peasants' Militia of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus on November 30, 1920. On July 10, 1934, the directorate was transformed into a branch of the newly formed People's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welcome Parade (torture)
The welcome parade (also known as health trail or corredor polonês) is a form of running the gauntlet used to torture new prisoners in some countries, including Poland in the twentieth century during the Polish People's Republic (communist period), Egypt and Belarus in the twenty-first century. Twentieth century Poland In Poland under the communist regime (1946–1989), the welcome parade torture was called the "health trail" () and was widely applied by police (Milicja Obywatelska), riot police ( ZOMO) and internal security forces/political police (Służba Bezpieczeństwa), particularly against political protesters and anticommunist activists. Brazil In Brazil, the welcome parade was called ''corredor polonês'' (''Polish corridor'') in allusion to the Polish tradition. Twenty-first century Egypt During the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, torture was common in Egyptian police stations, with 701 incidents of torture recorded by the Egyptian Organization for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Bernstein (Wikimedian)
On 11 March 2022, Mark Izraylevich Bernstein, a Belarusian blogger and Wikipedian, contributor to the Russian Wikipedia based in Minsk, was detained by GUBOPiK personnel after online accusations of violating the Russian 2022 war censorship laws for his editing of Wikipedia articles on the topic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He was sentenced to 15 days' administrative arrest under Article 24.3 of the Administrative Code of Belarus (for disobedience to police officers). After that period, he was kept in detention; on 24 June 2022 he was sentenced to three years of restricted freedom and released from custody. Background Bernstein has edited Wikipedia under the username Pessimist2006. From late 2009 to early 2022, Bernstein was one of the 50 most active editors of the Russian Wikipedia, with over 200,000 edits. He was commissioned by other encyclopedia publishers to write articles. He described his "best" achievement in Wikipedia in 2009 as his work on an article on censorsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Broadcasting Corporation
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,200 are in public-sector broadcasting. The BBC was established under a Royal charter#United Kingdom, royal charter, and operates under an agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Its work is funded principally by an annual Television licensing in the United Kingdom, television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, BBC iPlayer, iPla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nasha Niva
''Nasha Niva'' (, lit. "Our field") is one of the oldest Belarusian weekly newspapers, founded in 1906 and re-established in 1991. ''Nasha Niva'' became a cultural symbol, due to the newspaper's importance as a publisher of Belarusian literature and as a pioneer of Belarusian language journalism, the years before the October Revolution are often referred to as the 'Nasha Niva Period'. In the period between 1906 and 1915 the newspaper was published on a weekly basis. From 1991 to 1995 it appeared once a month, reverting to weekly publication in 1996 and then fortnightly in 1997–1999. In 1999 the paper became a weekly again. ''Nasha Niva'' Online (nn.by) was set up in 1997. By 2017 it had become the most frequently visited website in the Belarusian language. According to Media IQ estimation, ''Nasha Niva'' remains free of state propaganda and keeps one of the highest ratings in journalism ethics among Belarusian media. Being in open opposition to Alexander Lukashenko's regime, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nasta Palazhanka
Nasta Palazhanka (Dashkevich) (, romanized: Nasta Pałažanka; born 1990) is an activist in the opposition youth movement in Belarus, which she joined at the age of 14. As of 2011 she is Deputy Chairperson of the Malady Front (Young Front), an NGO in Belarus. She has advocated for freedom and human rights in Belarus despite threats, harassment, and imprisonment. She received a 2011 International Women of Courage The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ... award. However, she was unable to attend the ceremony. As of September 2011, she was engaged to another Young Front activist, Zmitser Dashkevich. The two married when Palazhanka visited him in Hrodno prison on 26 December 2012. In July 2022, Nasta and Zmitser Dashkevich were sentenced for participating in the 2020 prot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belsat
Belsat (; ; stylised as B☰LSAT) is a Polish free-to-air terrestrial and satellite television channel aimed at Belarus. The channel is a subsidiary of TVP S.A. From the outset, it has been co-funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international donors. Broadcasting platforms Satellite and cable networks Belsat broadcasts from the Astra 4A satellite, which covers the European region of the former USSR. In Ukraine, it is available on most cable networks. In Poland, it is carried by approximately 20% of cable networks. In Belarus, however, it is unavailable on cable or digital networks due to a ban by the authorities. Internet The channel's programming is broadcast live via the belsat.eu website, YouTube, and the BelsatSmart app for Smart TVs. Meanwhile, the БелсатТВ app for Android and iOS tablets and smartphones allows viewers to watch live, and read the latest news with embedded videos. Belsat also operates ten thematic YouTube channels: ''Bels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uladzimir Nyaklyayew
Uladzimir Prakopavich Nyaklyayew (, Łacinka: ''Uładzimir Prakopavič Niaklajeŭ''; ; born 11 July 1946) is a Belarusian poet and writer, and a former head of the public campaign Tell the Truth! ("Гавары праўду!"). He was a candidate in the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, and, according to Amnesty International, was placed under house arrest for his role in post-election protests. Parents Vladimir Nyaklyayew was born on 11 July 1946 in the city of Smarhon in Grodno Region. His father, Prokofiy Neklyayev, was Russian, and used to work as a mechanic. His mother, Anastasiya Mahyer, was a Belarusian. Education Vladimir Nyaklyayew spent his childhood in a small place called Kreva where he finished his first school year.Някляеў Уладзімір Пракопавіч. Біяграфія ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Svaboda
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL operates 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff, 1,300 freelancers, and 680 employees. Nicola Careem serves as the editor-in-chief. Founded during the Cold War, RFE began in 1949 targeting Soviet empire, Soviet satellite states, while RL, established in 1951, focused on the Soviet Union. Initially funded covertly by the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA until 1972, the two merged in 1976. RFE/RL was headquartered in Munich from 1949 to 1995, with additional broadcasts from Portugal's Glória do Ribatejo until 1996. Soviet authorities jammed their signals, and Second World, communist regimes often infiltrated their operations. Today, RFE/RL is a private 501(c)(3) corporation supervised by the United States Agency for Global Media, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatoly Lebedko
Anatoly Vladimirovich Lebedko ( ; ; born 27 June 1961) is a Belarusian politician and pro-democracy activist who is currently the head of the United Civic Party, an opposition party. Life Born in the village of , then part of the Stoŭbtsy Raion within the Minsk Region of the Soviet Union's Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Lebedko emerged in the 1990s as one of the leading critics of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whom Lebedko, along with other opposition leaders and many western governments, considers a dictator. Lebedko's strident opposition to Lukashenka led to increasingly bitter confrontations with the Belarusian authorities through the late 1990s and into the 2000s. He was arrested numerous times for participating in unsanctioned protests and marches, including the 1999 Freedom March; was charged with libel against Lukashenko several times; and was beaten outside his home by masked men he alleges were connected to Lukashenko. Lebedko appears to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charter'97
Charter'97 (; ) is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro-human rights online news outlet taking its inspiration from the declaration. Charter The Charter'97 declaration deliberately echoes the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak human rights declaration Charter 77 made 20 years before. It was created on the anniversary of a 1996 Belarusian referendum, referendum held in 1996 and declared: "devotion to the principles of independence, freedom and democracy, respect to the human rights, solidarity with everybody, who stands for elimination of dictatorial regime and restoration of democracy in Belarus". Free Online News Site History Belarusian journalist Pavel Sheremet, Pavał Šaramiet acted as the group's spokesman at the declaration's public launch. Charter'97, as a citizens' human rights organisation based on the principles outlined in this document, is a non-partisan organisation which has organised protest rallies and has provided a springboard for other democra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
