Our Centre hosted the fifth discussion of its “Coffee and International Politics” format, during which Živilė Dambrauskaitė, Deputy Director of the Freedom House Lithuania, shared her insights. This time, the latest developments concerning Belarusian society and media and the repression against them were discussed.
The Belarusian regime is trying to show that it is in control. People in various fields (academics, media, medical staff, etc.) are under considerable pressure. The torture of political prisoners has also intensified. The discussion also covered the pardon granted by the Belarusian regime to Roman Protasevich and the Belarusian civil society’s assessment of the situation. Although there is no unanimous opinion on this issue, from the perspective of major human rights organisations and journalists’ rights defenders, they recognise Protasevich as a repressed person. However, the more Protasevich is talked about as an infiltrator, the more the mythology of the regime’s unlimited control is strengthened.