Belarus Review by iSANS — September 30, 2024 

Russian drones of the Shahed-136/131 type continued to fly into the airspace of Belarus. Thus, on September 24, a drone overflight was recorded. The Belarusian Air Force was not used to intercept it. On September 26, four drones were recorded. It is known that at least one of them came not from the direction of Ukraine (as it often happens) but from Russia. Fighter jets of the Belarusian Air Force were used to intercept the drones. Almost nothing is known about their fate. It is known that one drone flew to the territory of Ukraine.

On September 24, during the meeting of the Obuz-Lesnouski training ground, Aliaksandr Lukashenka said that Belarus had created a new unit staffed by contract servicemen. Other details about the unit were not given. At the meeting, Lukashenka announced a winter inspection of the Armed Forces of Belarus and the power bloc of ministries “in all directions”.

On September 24, it was reported that representatives of the Academy of Military Sciences of the People’s Liberation Army of China visited the Research Institute of the Armed Forces of Belarus. The delegation was introduced to the activities of the institute. An exhibition of the main results of scientific research was organized.

On September 24-25, a delegation headed by Seyed Yosef Molayi Andabil, deputy head of the main department of training and military education of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, visited military educational institutions of Belarus. The purpose of the visit was to “expand scientific and technical cooperation and get familiarized with the possibility of training specialists” for the Iranian armed forces.

On September 26, Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin visited the 927^th center for training and application of unmanned aerial systems during a working trip to Berezovsky district. During the visit, it was reported about plans to “create [in the Armed Forces of Belarus] new specialized units of unmanned aerial systems”. No other details about the formation of the new units were given.

On September 28, on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou said that Belarus and Russia were planning to sign a treaty on security guarantees by the 25^th anniversary of the formation of the “Union State”. One of the clauses of the treaty will include a provision on the use of nuclear weapons.

The training of the 231^st Artillery Brigade’s units for the operation of the B-200 Polonez multiple rocket launchers continues. The exact dates for the transfer of the Polonezes to the brigade have not yet been announced. Given the ongoing training of the crews, the transfer of the systems may take place in the foreseeable future.

In mid-September, Tor-M2K anti-aircraft missile systems of the 15^th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade were deployed in the vicinity of the village of Guriny (Mozyr district). The firing position of the complexes is nine kilometers from the Mozyr oil refinery. It can be assumed that the units perform the task of covering the plant from air attacks.

In October-December 2024, the command of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus plans to purchase 1,319 airfield slabs. The products are used to build runways, and parking lots for airplanes and helicopters, etc. The plates are purchased for the units that operate the airfields Machulishchi, Baranovichi, Babruisk, and Borovtsy. In total, purchases of materials for the repair of artificial surfaces of five out of seven operating military airfields in Belarus were recorded in 2024.

The zone of restriction for flights of all types of civil aircraft (including drones) at altitudes from 0 to 19,800 meters in the south of Belarus was extended, according to NOTAMN O0597/24 until December 31, 2024. The ban on flights over the southern part of Belarus was introduced on February 24, 2022, with the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Accordingly, the potential threat of missile attacks on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus remains at least until the end of 2024.

The situation on the Belarus-Ukraine border has not changed.

During the period under review, a 78^th session of the United Nations General Assembly took place in New York, USA. For the second year in a row, Belarus was represented by two delegations – the “official one” – headed by Lukashenka’s former Foreign Minister and now the head of the International Relations and National Security Committee of the upper house of the “parliament”, Siarhei Aleinik, and the delegation of the Belarusian democratic forces headed by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The activities of both delegations at the UNGA differ tremendously: while Siarhei Aleinik spoke before the UNGA and attended eight different meetings, including the UN Security Council, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya attended the debate on political prisoners organized on the sidelines of the UNGA by the EU Delegation, together with Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Germany, and France. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized the catastrophic situation in Belarus urging UN intervention. While being earlier at the 57^th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Tsikhanouskaya held an interactive dialogue on resolution 55/27 regarding the interim report of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya delivered the closing remarks to the session, underlining the number of political prisoners in Belarus, the torture-like conditions in prisons, and the incommunicado state of the most prominent political prisoners, which she called “psychological torture not only for the prisoners but also for their families” (for more information please see our Human Rights section). Moreover, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces held several meetings with high-level international politicians: with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel, with whom she discussed visa issues, restrictions on Belarus-registered vehicles to enter EU countries, preparations for the EU-Belarus Consultative Group meeting, and holding Belarus Days in Brussels this December. She awarded Borrel with the United Transitional Cabinet’s Cross of Good Neighborhood as a sign of gratitude for his solidarity and support. Tsikhanouskaya also met with US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack to discuss the regime’s persecution of Belarusians abroad, risks faced by those returning to their homeland, holding the regime’s officials accountable for their involvement in repressions and human rights violations, and initiating cases under universal jurisdiction. At the same time, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke at the Atlantic Council’s Global Future Forum, emphasizing the global nature of the struggle for freedom and democracy, calling for solidarity with the people fighting against dictatorial regimes. She also participated at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA, where she discussed together with Hillary Clinton and Yulia Navalnaya the issue of why all democratic tools must be used to support those fighting against dictatorship; and joined the annual Concordia Summit to discuss Belarus’ role in regional security, emphasizing that the country should be seen as part of the solution to the crisis.

On September 24, New Zealand imposed further sanctions against Russia and Belarus. According to New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters, the sanctions target five individuals and six entities and are aligned with those of like-minded countries from Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, including Australia, Japan, the UK, the EU, the US, and Canada. The backlisted companies and individuals include Belarusian individuals and entities providing material support to the Russian invasion and a Russian entity involved in Russia’s illegal occupation and control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

On September 25, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda spoke at the UNGA and stated that the countries-aggressors have no place at the UN Security Council and called on Belarus, Iran, North Korea, and China to stop military support to Russia. Lithuanian President said that the aggressor, Russia, is using its position at the UN Security Council and its unconditional veto-right. He said that the response of the UN to stop the war in Ukraine was insufficient. Nausėda stated that the situation with Russia, which is still a full member of the UN Security Council, is a “tremendous blow” to the authority and reputation of the United Nations and called to support Ukraine, reform the Security Council, and restore the reputation of the UN Charter.

On September 25, it became known that the Lithuanian company “Garsų pasaulis”, which is responsible for printing Lithuanian passports and was considered for printing the passport of New Belarus, was recognized “unreliable” by the Lithuanian State Security Department. This news comes after checks, which were held by Lithuania’s State security authority after it became known that the company might have business ties with the official Minsk.

On September 26, it was reported that the leading German company in lens production Carl Zeiss left the Belarusian market. Carl Zeiss was one of the first foreign companies that entered the Belarusian market thirty years ago and played a significant role in the country. The cessation of business by Carl Zeiss comes after the EU imposed its latest sanctions at the end of June this year and its Belarusian partner BelOMO landed among the blacklisted companies. It took several weeks for the German company to leave the joint Zeiss-BelOMO company.

On September 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine. In a meeting of his Security Council, Putin said Russia would revise the doctrine to potentially lower the bar for the use of nuclear weapons, adding that Moscow would regard an attack by a non-nuclear state that involved or was supported by a nuclear state as a “joint attack against the Russian Federation.” Nuclear retaliation, Putin continued, could be considered “once we receive reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack weapons and their crossing our state border. I mean strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles], hypersonic and other aircraft.” Moreover, the proposed amendments state that Russia keeps the right to use nuclear weapons in case of an aggression against Belarus, as Belarus and Russia are in a Union State and the aggression against Belarus would mean an aggression against the Union State.

On September 27, DW Belarus news agency announced that three men were sentenced to prison terms in Germany by the City Court of Brandenburg for violating the EU sanctions and exports of over 430 luxury cars to Russia. Reportedly, the men earned about EUR 30 million for the deals with luxury cars exporting them to Russia but stated in the customs declarations that the cars were designated for selling in Belarus. Two of them received six years’ prison terms and one – four years. The earnings in the volume of 30 million euros will be confiscated upon the court’s decision.

It became known that on September 20, the trial of political prisoner Aksana Lepko, detained on January 23, 2024, as part of the so-called “solidarity raid” (raid on relatives and friends of political prisoners and recipients of assistance from INeedHelpBY project), ended in the Hrodna Regional Court. Lepko was accused of “facilitating extremist activities”. She was sentenced to three years of imprisonment.

Former political prisoner Aliaksei Kireeu said that Aliaksandr Fyaduta, a well-known literary critic and political analyst, who was sentenced to 10 years for allegedly plotting to seize power, lost 30 kilograms in colony. According to Aliaksei Kireeu, prisoners are forbidden to contact Fyaduta, so most of the time he “sits alone in the smoking room.” However, Kireeu still managed to “exchange a few words” with Fyaduta. Kireeu claims that Fyaduta’s serious health condition is obvious from his appearance. “I know that he has problems with blood pressure and heart. I had earlier noticed how in the morning, when everyone went to work, he suddenly felt sick and grabbed the fence to keep from falling. Then they took him to the medical center and gave him three days off from work. But on other days he has to work — he sweeps in the workshop after work is completed. It’s obvious that it’s hard for him, he’s getting tired. This year, he was in the hospital in Kolyadichi. Fyaduta himself said that he had lost 30 kilograms. And it’s noticeable — the skin is hanging on him,» Kireev said.

The TG House Belarus initiative, which unites transgender people in Belarus, reported on the mass cleansing of the LGBT community. “People are being searched, detained, fined, and prosecuted,” says the coordinator of the initiative. At least eight persons have been detained. Protocols were drawn up for “hooliganism” on some of them, and criminal cases were opened against two persons for distributing pornography. TG House Belarus plans to hand over a report on the cleansing to human rights defenders.

Seven more persons have been recognized as political prisoners in Belarus, “Viasna” Human Rights Center reports. As of today, 1,330 people have the status of political prisoners in Belarus.

At a meeting with students at the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics on September 27, Aliaksandr Lukashenka said he intends to continue the practice of releasing political prisoners. “Yes, I will continue. Because this is my job, it is the constitutional duty of the president to pardon a person. We must fulfill our duties…», he stated.

At least 10 persons were detained in the Homel region. The security forces published a “repentant” video with them on September 27. In the video, the detainees say they were subscribed to “extremist” channels. One of them was forced to say that he met Ukrainians in a computer game and “under their influence began to insult Russia and Lukashenka.”

The KGB en masse and forcibly recruits political prisoners who have been released on pardon, threatening them with new persecution if they refuse to cooperate. According to human rights activists, KGB officers require released political prisoners to sign several papers and agree to be filmed in propaganda videos. They are also banned from leaving the country and are required to cooperate in intelligence activities against democratic forces, aid funds, and human rights organizations. In case of refusal, they are threatened with new harassment and pressure on the family. “People were required to contact all possible funds and structures of democratic forces and “leak” any information that would help destroy channels of support for the repressed or cause other damage to opposition structures,” the Dissident.by Initiative reports. This was often accompanied by the installation of special software on the gadgets of the pardoned, which allows the security forces to conduct intelligence activities literally online.

On September 23, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech was shown at the 57th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She was introduced to the participants as the “president-elect”. Tsikhanouskaya said that more than 1,300 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, and many of them are kept in complete isolation, incommunicado — without letters, without phone calls, without contact with the outside world. She called on the UN to act: to demand an end to incommunicado detention, to demand access to medical care and communication with families for all political prisoners. “This is not just a political issue — it is a matter of life and death,” she stressed, “Speak up. Use your influence. Punish the guilty. Together we can stop this terror and restore hope to Belarus.”

The British Government stated at the UN Human Rights Council meeting that it was deeply concerned by brutal and systematic human rights violations in Belarus. “We condemn ongoing arbitrary arrests and widespread repression. To mark the fourth anniversary of deeply flawed presidential elections in Belarus, we announced new sanctions on four commanding officers of penal colonies in response to ongoing human rights violations,” the statement said. Additionally, two and a half million GBP for support to Belarusian human rights defenders and civil society was announced. UK Government appealed to the representatives of Belarus: “While we welcome the recent release of some political prisoners, we urge you to immediately release the over 1,300 political prisoners who remain detained without reason.”

During the UN General Assembly in New York, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, together with other European politicians, discussed the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka and the issue of the release of Belarusian political prisoners. He stressed that as long as the human rights situation in Belarus does not change, there can be no question of easing sanctions. “Belarus is becoming more and more like a prison, and until real changes begin there, there can be no question of any easing of sanctions,” said Gabrielius. In his opinion, the release of several prisoners creates the illusion of cooperation with the West, which does not reflect the real situation in the country. “Every time, as the elections in Belarus approach, the Lukashenka regime takes fake steps and releases several political prisoners. I hope that this time we will not make a mistake and will not succumb to the illusion, because there are hundreds of political prisoners in Belarusian prisons who have become hostages of the Lukashenka regime, and whom the dictator will once again try to exchange for easing sanctions and lifting isolation,” Landsbergis stressed.

“The EU condemns the ongoing repression in Belarus and the dire situation of more than 1300 political prisoners. Our support for the people of Belarus in their quest for a democratic Belarus will continue,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel noted on September 24 after meeting with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.

On September 25, the founder and head of “Viasna” Human Rights Center, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski turned 62 years old. This was the fourth birthday he has been celebrating behind bars. His colleagues from “Viasna” organized a series of events around the world demanding his release and the release of all other political prisoners. In Vilnius, activists of the Belarusian emigration gathered near the Belarusian embassy, solidarity actions were also held in Warsaw, Bialystok, and other European cities. In Brussels, a petition-signing campaign was held in front of the Belarusian Embassy. A petition with 82 thousand signatures was submitted to the Embassy of Belarus by MEPs, human rights defenders, and activists.

Last week, “new evidence of the direct involvement of the Lukashenka regime” in the displacement of Ukrainian children to Belarus was submitted to the International Criminal Court, said Yuri Yurkevich, Ukrainian Program Director of the human rights organization Freedom House. According to him, more than 2,200 children were transported from the territories occupied by Russia into Belarus with the aim of their “political indoctrination and militarization of education.” The investigation revealed the direct involvement of Aliaksandr Lukashenka himself, as well as high-ranking officials of the Union State – Mikhail Mishustin, Dmitry Mezentsev, and Aliaksei Talai, the Founder and Head of the charitable foundation in Belarus, in these atrocities. Apart from Freedom House, the Ukrainian center for Human Rights ZMINA and the Regional Center for Human Rights participated in the preparation of almost 90 documents, Yurkevich stressed. He also expressed gratitude to Belarusian organizations – the association of former security forces officers BelPol and “Viasna” Human Rights Center – for their help. The investigation into the displacement of children in Belarus will be presented on October 4.

Lawyers of international human rights organizations filed an appeal against the decision of the Swiss court, which acquitted the ex-fighter of the Belarusian SOBR Yuri Harauski in the case considered within the frame of the universal jurisdiction. In 2019, Harauski voluntarily declared his involvement in the kidnapping of opposition politicians – former Interior Minister Yuri Zakharanka, former Central Election Commission Chair Viktar Hanchar, and businessman Anatol Krasouski. Ilya Nuzov, Head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) commented: “The Court of Appeal is not limited in its consideration of the case. The appeal can challenge everything: errors in the interpretation of the law, incomplete or incorrect assessment of the circumstances of the case, and/or the illegality of the decision. Thus, we can present new evidence that demonstrates the direct involvement of Yuri Harauski in the disappearances.»

On September 27, the Council of Europe published a guide for European parliamentarians and other politicians on practical steps they can take to help Belarusians living in exile in the member states of the Council of Europe. The guide, prepared by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, is called “The Luxembourg Solutions”: outcomes and Perspectives” and is presented in three languages — English, French, and Belarusian. The guide contains policy recommendations and suggestions on topics directly related to Belarusians living in exile, including legal entry and stay, threats to freedom of movement and refusal to provide consular services, access to education, professional careers and entrepreneurship in exile, preservation and development of the Belarusian cultural identity. The guide was prepared following the results of the conference held in June 2024 in Luxembourg and builds up on the report «Addressing the specific challenges faced by the Belarusians in exile», prepared by Paul Galles, and the resolution based on the report, adopted by the PACE in June 2023.

On September 27, Sviatlana Tsikhonouskaya and Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Russian opposition leader and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza, became laureates of the 2024 Lantos Foundation Human Rights Prize. As stated on the foundation’s website, the prize was awarded to «the pair of extraordinary women, who have become models of courage and determination in the fight against tyranny and autocracy in the post-Soviet space.»

Belarusian political prisoners Maksim Znak, Vital Braginets and Aliaksandr Danilevich became laureates of the Scott Crosby Human Rights Award. Founded by the European Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, this prestigious award is presented annually to lawyers, who have shown exceptional courage in defending human rights and the rule of law.