‘In Belarus, it’s dangerous to be human’: How civil society organizations became the Lukashenko regime’s latest target

In late July, the Belarusian authorities shut down 50 nonprofit organizations simultaneously, targeting human rights activists, as well as environmental, educational, and cultural groups. Dozens of other organizations are facing liquidation, but their members continue working despite police raids and criminal cases. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko (Alyaksandr Lukashenka) has openly accused human rights defenders, journalists, and environmentalists of organizing opposition protests - and even boasted to Vladimir Putin that his regime has started "actively" targeting civil society organizations and independent media. Meduza looks into why the Belarusian authorities are still carrying out large-scale repressions, despite the fact that there haven't been mass protests in Belarus for some time now. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/08/05/in-belarus-it-s-dangerous-to-be-human