Former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, currently serving a 14-year prison sentence, has been hospitalized with multiple injuries, according to a report by the “Rabochy Ruh” Belarusian workers' association citing several sources with knowledge of the matter Babaryka was reportedly taken from Navapolatsk penal colony No. 1 to Navapolatsk central municipal hospital on the night of April 25. The opposition activist has been admitted to the hospital’s surgery department and his condition has been assessed as “moderate.” The union also reported that Babarika has been diagnosed with pneumothorax [an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall which can lead to partial or complete lung collapse – The Insider] “Rabochy Ruh” added that Babaryka was so badly beaten that the doctors did not recognize him until they saw his last name on his papers was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021 after being found guilty of bribery and money laundering The arrest prevented Babaryka from running for president against Alexander Lukashenko Opposition politician Maria Kalesnikava, sentenced to 11 years in prison in Belarus, was placed in intensive care last November after being diagnosed with a perforated ulcer We really need your help! Subscribe to donations! Сделано в Charmer устарел и не позволяет корректно отображать сайт A blog of the Kennan Institute 2024: Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva reunites with her family on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews after her release and return to the United States in a prisoner swap with Russia The White House After months of complex and delicate negotiations, American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva touched down in the United States on a plane carrying three Americans released in a historic prisoner exchange with Russia on August 1 Held hostage in the Russian city of Kazan for more than nine months, Alsu had an emotional reunion with her family on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, only minutes before her youngest daughter Miriam's thirteenth birthday.  Alsu committed no crime and should never have been detained. As we breathe a sigh of relief for Alsu and her family, we continue the fight to secure the release of her three colleagues who are still behind bars and stand in solidarity with all journalists who are imprisoned by Russia and its allies in retaliation for their honest reporting Alsu is a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a congressionally funded, editorially independent media organization reporting the news in places where press freedom is under threat. Based in Prague, Alsu works for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir Service covering cultural and human rights issues affecting ethnic minority communities in Russia.  Alsu traveled to Russia in May 2023 to care for her elderly She intended to stay there for only two weeks but as she was getting ready to board a plane at Kazan airport she was stopped and forced to turn over her U.S Authorities charged her with not registering her U.S passport and later handed her a small fine.  She spent the summer under de facto house arrest in Kazan eager to pay the fine and return home to Prague masked Russian agents showed up at her mother’s door on October 18 They charged her with failing to self-register as a “foreign agent” and then with “spreading false information” about Russia’s military under draconian laws Russia uses to punish independent journalists Alsu spent nine months in horrid conditions, surviving the Russian winter in a cold, filthy prison cell and constantly getting sick. Following a rapid and secret trial she was convicted and sentenced to six and a half years in prison on July 16 the same day that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to sixteen years on charges of espionage Alsu’s only crime was being an American journalist with a commitment to the truth.  Her forced separation from her loving family and colleagues was undeserved and cruel, and her treatment in prison was appalling. “I’m finally in good hands,” Alsu told RFE/RL several days after her release we must remember that Russia’s broader crackdown on the free press continues unabated Three of Alsu’s colleagues remain wrongfully detained in Russia-occupied Crimea and Belarus: Vladyslav Yesypenko we strengthen our commitment to their freedom and will continue to work tirelessly until they are returned to their families The jailing of RFE/RL journalists is part of an insidious trend. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Russia held twenty-two journalists behind bars in 2023 on charges ranging from criticizing the war in Ukraine to spreading “fake news.” Countless others have been forced to report from exile or stop practicing journalism entirely for their own safety Vladyslav (Vlad) Yesypenko a journalist with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Russia-occupied Crimea on March 10 Vlad left Crimea after Russia’s 2014 annexation but felt compelled to return periodically to report on social and environmental issues impacting the peninsula’s residents On February 16, 2022, a Russia-imposed court convicted Vlad of “possession and transport of explosives,” a charge he steadfastly denies. Prosecutors have since admitted that a grenade “found” in Vlad’s vehicle did not have his fingerprints on it During his trial, Vlad said he was tortured with electric shocks to extract a false confession he said: “My eyes hurt and my brain almost boiled. . .  I was ready to sign anything.” He is currently serving a five-year sentence separated from his wife Kateryna and ten-year-old daughter Stefania who have not seen him in more than three years Ihar Losik a journalist with RFE/RL’s Belarus Service as part of mass arrests in the lead-up to Belarus’s rigged election in August 2020 which cemented Aleksandr Lukashenko’s Kremlin-backed dictatorship After a five-month closed-door trial, Ihar was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison on baseless charges that included “organization of mass riots” and “incitement to hatred.” He was transferred to the notorious Navapolatsk hard labor colony Since his arrest, Ihar has endured severe psychological and physical pressure, including beatings, long-term solitary confinement, and several debilitating hunger strikes. He has been held incommunicado since February 2023 Ihar’s colleagueAndrey Kuznechyk is held in the same prison on equally unjust charges, but they are not permitted to speak to one another. An avid cyclist, Andrey was detained in Minsk on November 25 Authorities ransacked his home and threw him in prison to serve two consecutive ten-day sentences for “hooliganism.” That winter, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine with Lukashenko’s support, while Andrey remained in detention on unspecified charges. The charges remained unknown until May 2022, when Andrey was accused of “creating or participating in an extremist organization.” On June 8, 2022, Andrey was sentenced to six years in prison following a closed-door trial that lasted no more than a few hours.  Andrey is an innocent father of two young children he is kept from them and the rest of his loving family These journalists were imprisoned not for what they did (or rather did not do) but for what they represent: a challenge to the false narratives peddled by the Kremlin and its allies. And they’re not alone—detentions of journalists in Russia are at an all-time high Authoritarians like Putin and Lukashenko seek to silence independent journalists committed to reporting the truth Yet each attempt to silence members of the free press serves to underscore the importance of our mission RFE/RL remains dedicated to fighting for the truth and promoting democratic values by providing accurate uncensored news and open debate in countries where a free press is threatened and disinformation is pervasive and every other journalist imprisoned by the Kremlin and its allies are kept behind bars is time stolen from their families We will not stop fighting for their freedom until they—like Alsu—can finally embrace their loved ones again The opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute Belarus is one of the 10 worst countries for working people the Belarusian government further escalated repression against independent trade unions: intimidating 42 union leaders and members have been wrongfully detained or imprisoned and many more are deprived of their rights and freedoms Those who are released by the authorities find themselves branded as ‘extremists’ and treated like pariahs in society The shocking decline of trade union rights and civil and political freedoms has prompted the International Labour Conference (ILC) to adopt a resolution on Article 33 of the ILO Constitution to secure the government’s compliance with the recommendations of an ILO Commission of Inquiry The government ruthlessly victimised opponents and employees it deemed “disloyal to the regime” An employee of the OJSC Belarusian Steel Works was arrested and brought to court in Navapolatsk on charges that included "insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus" religious or other social enmity or discord” which carries a maximum sentence of five years Similar targeted arrests took place throughout 2023 and continued in 2024 law enforcers detained at least three employees of Gazprom Transgaz Belarus They were forced to sign statements admitting their involvement in “support of protest sentiments” and reposting materials from “extremist” Telegram channels There are currently 42 trade union leaders and members wrongfully detained or imprisoned Since 2020’s rigged presidential elections inhumane conditions of detention have been imposed on political detainees Detainees in crowded prisons are denied basic hygiene products They are not allowed to shower or access fresh air and lights are left on continuously day and night the President of Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on 27 December 2022 He is currently in a “strict regime” prison in Mogilev where he is kept in a cell for 23 hours a day and allowed just one four-hour visit and one item of post per year The ITUC represents 191 million workers in 169 countries and territories and has 340 national affiliates Navapolatsk plant "LLK-NAFTAN" is one of the largest producers of additives in oils and fuels in the former Soviet Union ownership structure and expand the number of owners in the spring of 2021 the word "NAFTAN" has disappeared from the name of the enterprise the plant was owned 50%-50% by Naftan and Lukoil Now it is the Navapolatsk City Executive Committee owns three percent On June 3, the U.S. sanctions against Belneftekhim and eight other Belarusian companies, Naftan among them, came into force Treasury Department made on April 19 says that transactions are prohibited not only with the sanctioned companies but also with companies with 50% or more of the blacklisted companies It refers to "direct and indirect ownership," although it does not specify what "indirect ownership" means The company's director Andrey Zvantsou initially commented on the company renaming citing the prohibition on the part of the owners.  "LLK-NAFTAN" (now EddieTech) describes itself as the largest integrated additive producer in the former Soviet Union the company was recognized as the "Best Exporter" in the category "Refining Chemical and Petrochemical Industry with an annual export volume of over $25 million." About 95% of the refinery's output is exported Naftan's 50% stake in this production might have put the company under U.S EddieTech supplies its additives to major Russian machine oil producers Lukoil there are about 40 countries and 80 key partner companies from the CIS In the most severe interpretation of the U.S all counterparties of the Belarusian company were at risk of falling under them Become a journalist!Report topic! Support usDonate