Andrei Kazenko
BBC News Russian
BBC
Anna Kraslina (L) and Tatsiana Ashurkevich are among the rebels targeted overseas
The rebels who fled Alexander Lukashenko’s rule in Belarus say threats are on the rise to them and their relatives.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have left their country after 70-year-old Lukashenko claimed victory in the presidential election, and after being equipped with brutal crackdowns on widespread opposition protests in 2020.
Among the exiles was 26-year-old journalist Tatsuana Ashulkevich. He continued to write about events in Belarus. Later, earlier this year, she discovered that the door to her flat in the capital Minsk was sealed with construction bubbles.
She speculated who might be responsible. She decides to stand up to one of her followers on Instagram, which repeatedly sent messages to her with unsolicited tributes and opinions about Belarus’ opposition in exile and journalism.
“If there is a criminal case [against me]I just say it,” she said. “I have nothing to do with that apartment – others live there. Why are you doing this?”
The front door of Tatsana Ashlkevich in a Belarus home was closed with the foam of a builder
The man quickly changed his tone to be more formal and said that the criminal case was not his fault, but he could ask the relevant department.
He then made the request: Can she share information about the Belarusians fighting for Ukraine, especially since she wrote previously?
Ashurkevich blocked him.
Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Belarus itself over the past five years, according to human rights group Viasna.
However, hundreds of critics of Lukashenko’s 31-year rule have also faced persecution overseas.
Lukashenko and Belarusian state media often accus opposition activists of “betraying” the country and planning a coup with Western support. Authorities have allegedly justified targeting activists overseas, harming national security and trying to overthrow the government.
Several people whom the BBC said they received messages and calls promise, sometimes harmless, sometimes thinly veiled threats, or catches.
55-year-old Anna Kraslina has become accustomed to putting her phone in flight mode before going to bed, so she often receives them.
“You can see who’s dealing with me – it’s a few people, or maybe the same person who uses different accounts,” she says.
She is sure the authorities are behind this. Ms. Kraslina works as a spokesman for Svetlana Tykanovskaya, an opposition leader who many have won the 2020 election and believes they currently live in exile.
Both women are sentenced to 11 and 15 years in Belarus, respectively, in trials held in absence. The accusations included preparing for a coup and running an extremist organization.
Getty Images
Many opposition activists have been blocked from protesting overseas due to risks to their families
According to Viasna, last year saw a record number as an order by Lukashenko in 2022 allowed such trials against exiled political enemies.
This allows authorities to raid the accused’s home and harass the relatives.
Critics have been identified in photos and videos made by gatherings of opposition overseas.
Krasulina has stopped joining many people for fear of their loved ones who will remain in Belarus.
The BBC spoke to report the relatives that authorities are visiting.
“When you can’t help them, it’s scary. You can’t go back. You can’t support them,” says 1.
No one will appear on records or anonymously reveal details due to concerns that family members could be hurt.
Their fear is unfounded. Artem Lebedko, 39, who worked in real estate, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for “funding extremism.”
He had never spoken publicly, but his father was an opposition politician living in exile.
Journalist and analyst Hannah Libakova said breaking relationships between fleeing Belarusians and those who stayed behind was a deliberate strategy by Lukashenko’s government, and was sentenced to 10 years in her absence.
“Even if someone in Belarus understands everything, they think three times before talking to “terrorists,” she says, referring to the list of “radicists and terrorists” where authorities fill the names of their critics.
Andrei Strezhak
Andrei Strizhak compares the method used by Belarusian authorities with the old Soviet KGB
The BBC sent a request for comment to the Belarus Ministry of Home Affairs, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Some of Ribakova’s own relatives have also received visits from security services, and the property registered in her name has been seized, she says.
The BBC says it believes Belarusian authorities are seeking maximum pressure on those who have left to crush all opposition wherever they are.
Hannah Libakova believes that the persecution of the opposition stems from Lukashenko’s personal revenge against the 2020 protests.
One country that has proven particularly unsafe for Belarusian exiles is Russia. In 2022, Russia alone extraded 16 people accused of being an “extremist crime,” according to authorities in Minsk.
“The method used by Belarusian security forces is very similar to that of the Soviet KGB, and has just been updated with the latest technology.
Threating threats and reward promises for cooperation may not work for everyone, he added. However, by casting a wide range of nets, authorities can get a small number of people who agree to share some useful information.
Strizhak calls for the administration’s efforts to hunt overseas for the “war of attrition” that many activists are exhausted and want to continue their lives.
“We’re doing everything we can to stay resilient,” says Strizhak. “But every year, more and more effort is required.”
