page_title: Human rights in Belarus
section_title: August 2020 election
hierarchical_section_title: Human rights in Belarus / Electoral process / August 2020 election
caption_attribution_description: Беларуская: Мітынг Святланы Ціханоўскай і аб'яднанага перадвыбарчага штаба. 30 ліпеня 2020, Мінск, Беларусь English: Rally in support of Sviatlana Tsikhanoŭskaya and the joint campaign headquarters. 30 July 2020, Minsk, Belarus Русский: Митинг Светланы Тихановской и объединённого предвыборного штаба. 30 июля 2020, Минск, Беларусь
context_page_description: The Belarusian government is criticized for human rights violations and its persecution of non-governmental organisations, independent journalists, national minorities, and opposition politicians. In a testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus as one of the world's six "outposts of tyranny". In response, the Belarusian government called the assessment "quite far from reality". As at 2017, the Viasna Human Rights Centre lists two political prisoners, down from 11 in 2016 currently detained in Belarus.
  President Alexander Lukashenko has described himself as having an "authoritarian ruling style". Western countries have described Belarus under Lukashenko as a dictatorship; the government has accused the same Western powers of trying to oust Lukashenko. The Council of Europe has barred Belarus from membership since 1997 for undemocratic voting and election irregularities in the November 1996 constitutional referendum and parliament by-elections.
context_section_description: In June 2020, the Amnesty International documented clampdown on human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and association, ahead of presidential elections scheduled for 9 August 2020. The organization reported politically motivated prosecutions, intimidation, harassment and reprisals against opposition candidates and their supporters. The Belarusian authorities, under the political preeminence of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, also targeted and intimidated civil society activists and independent media. Two aspiring politicians, Syarhei Tsikhanouski and Viktar Babaryka, were jailed and faced politically motivated criminal proceedings. Hundreds of peaceful protesters, including their supporters, were arbitrarily arrested and heavily fined or held in “administrative detention.” On 14 August 2020, the European Union imposed sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, after reports of the systematic abuse and torture of Belarusians in a brutal crackdown on protesters. The reports documented that Belarus security forces viciously beat and detained peaceful protesters, who participated in demonstrations against the country’s election outcome.
caption: 2020 Belarusian protests
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