4/9/21
MINSK -- Belarusian lawmakers have approved several amendments to legislation that severely restricts civil rights and the free flow of information amid a crackdown on protests challenging the official results of a presidential election that handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka his sixth consecutive term. The texts of the controversial amendments to the laws on extremism and mass media -- which come amid an ongoing crackdown on opposition groups who have said a presidential election last August was rigged in favor of Lukashenka -- were approved in the first reading on April 2 and placed on the official website for legal documents on April 9, marking the first time much of the information has been made public. According to the amendments, any activities by individuals, political parties, or domestic or international organizations defined as damaging independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, the basis of the constitutional order, and public safety will be considered "extremist." More than 33,000 people have been arrested for participating in the demonstrations. Many have been beaten by police, while some have said they were tortured while in custody. The European Union, the United States, and other nations have refused to recognize the declared results of the election.
If approved and signed into law, the amendments would ban individual lawyers and private firms from defending people in some criminal and administrative cases. Most of the lawyers who work with Belarusian journalist associations and have defended RFE/RL reporters in recent months have already been stripped of their licenses. Amendments to the law on media will allow authorities to shut down media outlets after two written warnings regarding their activities during one year if the activities of such media outlets pose a "threat to the country's national security." The amendments also mandate that state bodies can limit access to online publications if the Information Ministry finds that materials of such publications carry information that has been banned. Belarusian state media reported earlier this week that lawmakers also approved amendments to the Criminal Code and laws on public assembly, state security, and the Internet, the full texts of which have not been made public yet. The amendments also allow the central bank to monitor cash withdrawals through foreign-issued debit cards and limit such withdrawals, as well as to freeze the bank accounts of "suspicious individuals."
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