Security officers in Belarus have raided the offices and homes of independent journalists and human rights activists for the third successive day, extending what rights activists say is a new crackdown on opponents of longtime President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Poland-based Nexta Live channel said the office of United States broadcaster Radio Liberty in the capital, Minsk, was among those searched on Friday. Belarusian human rights organisation Viasna-96 reported that two Radio Liberty journalists had been detained.
Police officers also went to the homes of a journalist from Polish TV channel Belsat and those of several local reporters, Viasna-96 reported.
The authorities have shut down a number of non-state media outlets and human rights groups since protests began in August 2020 against a presidential election which the opposition says was rigged. The protests died down during the Belarusian winter in the wake of a violent crackdown that saw thousands of protesters detained, several killed and hundreds receive lengthy prison sentences for the unrest.
Lukashenko denies electoral fraud. In power since 1994, he claimed a sixth term in office with 80 percent of the vote in last year’s poll, according to official results.
