The Belarusian regime ordered the closure of about 40 NGOs and promised to continue “cleaning”.

The Belarusian regime liquidated more than 40 NGOs, including human rights organizations, and promised to continue persecution against them, which was called for by the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko. “Roaders” and “foreign agents”.

The Belarusian human rights organization Vesná initially reported on its Telegram account on Friday that more than two dozen organizations had been liquidated, a figure that was later updated. “More than 40”.

Non-legal NGOs include the Center for Legal Transformation, the Center for Environmental Solutions, the Center for European Dialogue, the Belarusian Press Club, the Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Legal Information Center “Lawtrend” and the Social Film Workshop or Center. for urban projects and spatial initiatives, according to Vesná.

The Belarusian Ministry of Justice also submitted a complaint to the Supreme Court To the Syndicate of Journalists (BAJ), whose bank account has been frozen, to be liquidated for allegedly violating NGO legislation.

He also went to the Supreme Court to dismantle The PEN Center, headed by 2015 Nobel Prize winner in Literature Svetlana Alexievich, is a member of the Presidium of the Opposition Coordination Council of Belarus.

The pen was recently denounced 621 violations of cultural and human rights against cultural figures In the first half of 2021, at least 593 people were registered for the whole of 2020, according to a report compiled by Vesná.

also said, As of June 30, there were 526 political prisoners in Belarus, including 39 cultural workers.

Thursday, “Purifying” NGOs in Belarus is not easy, Lukashenko said at a cabinet meeting, because there are about 2,000 in the country “non-commercial organizations, bandits and foreign agents in a small country.”

Minsk allowed them years ago with a motive.”democracy‘ He said, but ‘now we realize it damage to the stateHe said, according to the official agency Belta.

“Cleaning is underway. Do you think it’s easy? Thousands of people, our people, work there, and most of them have been brainwashed with foreign money.”, handle.

The authoritarian regime of the president, in power since 1994, has also been promoting A campaign of persecution against independent media and journalists.

As the Journalists Syndicate said on Monday, Over the past 10 days, police have raided 66 media outlets and editorial officesIn addition to conducting searches in various NGOs and the homes of human rights defenders. In total, according to the Arab Bank of Al Jazeera, authorities have carried out 107 raids against journalists so far this year.

A total of 33 journalists are currently in prisonBAJ said.

The Investigative Committee of Belarus confirmed on July 16 that it has information that there are many NGOs and media outlets “Involved in financing the protests” against Lukashenko’s regime.

Belarus has been in a deep political crisis since the presidential elections last August, where Lukashenko was declared the winner by a wide margin, a qualifying result for con man by the opposition and the West.

for several months, Thousands of protesters took to the streets From various cities of the state to participate in peaceful demonstrations that were violently suppressed by the police.

(With information from EFE)

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