Belarus - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Latest Belarus News

Belarus Rejects Gay Rights Center

The Belarusian Justice Ministry has refused to legally register a homosexual rights organization in Minsk. More

Belarus: Sannikau's Wife To Leave

The wife of former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrey Sannikau has been allowed to temporarily leave Belarus. More

Belarusian fashion designer Sasha Varlamau appears in court during his trial on fraud and other charges in Minsk on February 4.

Belarusian Fashion Designer On Trial

The trial of prominent Belarusian fashion designer Alyaksandr Varlamau has started in Minsk. More

Russian police try to separate gay-rights activists and supporters of a new law against disseminating "homosexual propaganda" to minors outside the State Duma in Moscow. The bill is one considered by Human Rights Watch to be of "an absolutely regressive and repressive nature" passed recently.

HRW Warns Of Challenges To Democracy

In its annual report, the U.S.-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) evaluates the human-rights situation in more than 90 countries and warns of the challenges to democracy many of them face. More

A man holds a banner during a rally to mark World Press Freedom Day in Tbilisi on May 3.

Afghan Rise In Press-Freedom Index

Afghanistan has climbed 22 places in this year's Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders "thanks to the fact that no journalists are in prison" there. More

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Latest Blog Posts

The official Minsk report slams U.S. authorities for apparently forcefully dispersing a number of peaceful protests, including a rally by the Occupy Wall Street movement in Oakland in 2012. (file photo)

Belarusian Report Blasts West For Rights Violations

Belarusian authorities have compiled a report illustrating what they describe as an alarming deterioration of human rights in the Western world. Minsk says the report, the first of its kind, intends to show that rights abuses are not limited to developing nations. More

In a Facebook photo, three people, including Uladzimer Labkovich (right), hold up photos of the "Byalyatski Three" activists, who are themselves brandishing images of jailed rights activist Ales Byalyatski.

Outraged Belarusians Link Up In 'Chained Solidarity'

Yet another form of dissent has sprung up in that fount of creative protest, Belarus, to express frustration with official retaliation against both an imprisoned rights campaigner and his supporters. More

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Features & Commentary

Fashion designer Sasha Varlamau attends the opening court hearing during his trial in Minsk on February 4.

In Belarus's First Celebrity Trial, Fashion Designer Faces Fraud Charges

Belarus's most renowned fashion designer is facing fraud charges in the country's first celebrity trial.

A new study suggests there has been a sharp rise in the number of smoking-related illnesses among the female population.

Women Catch Up With Men On Smoking Death Risks

A new study says women smoking in the United States today are far more likely to die as a result of their tobacco use than they were in the 1960s.

Then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (third from right) chairs a Eurasian Customs Union meeting in 2009.

Invigorated Customs Union Presents Russia's Neighbors With Stark Choice

Russian President Vladimir Putin's premier foreign-policy initiative, the Eurasian Customs Union, is showing unprecedented vitality. But the European Union says membership in the ECU is incompatible with closer economic ties with the EU. This confronts many former Soviet states -- especially Ukraine and Moldova -- with a stark choice.

Anastasia Palazhanka brandishes her passport in an undated photo.

Belarusian Opposition Activist Ties The Knot In Prison

Jailed Belarusian opposition activist Zmitser Dashkevich has married his longtime girlfriend, fellow activist Nasta Palazhanka. The pair wedded in prison during their first meeting in two years.

In a country that has been referred to as "Europe's last dictatorship," RFE/RL's Radio Svaboda is one of the leading news websites and one of the few media outlets accessible to Belarusians in their own language.