On 9 August 2020, the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenka, who has ruled the country for 26 years, claimed the victory in the national election. It was after a long and hard fight against freedom and democracy. The authorities silenced and imprisoned oppositional candidates, shut down the nation’s internet and forced election workers to deliberately change the numbers in electoral registers, as well as hide and burn ballots.
The people of Belarus reacted to the injustice by holding peaceful demonstrations and meetings. The regime responded in the most gruesome way possible. Thousands upon thousands were detained. In the detention centers and jails, people were beaten, tortured, raped, humiliated, as well denied food and water, medical attention, and the opportunity to speak to a lawyer. Some for attending a demonstration. Some for wearing something white. And some had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Let The World Hear is a collaboration between Stockholm Free World Forum’s webzine Säkerhetsrådet and a number of Belarusian volunteers. Together we have gathered stories from the victims of the dictatorship regime in 2020. The world must know what happened.
The stories will be released on a daily basis. Subscribe to Säkerhetsrådet here or simply send an email to sakerhetsradet@frivarld.se in order not to miss a single one of them.
The stories
Darya, 20: ”You see the blood, hear the groans, the screams…”
Maksim: ”The screams and sounds of batons hitting flesh carried on for hours.”
”If you keep staring, we’ll make you eat the glass.”
Tatsiana, 37: ”We heard grown men screaming after their mothers”
Pavel, 22 was sentenced without a trial
Anastasiya, 33: ”We had to take off all our clothes, including underwear”
Olga, 35: ”We have to carry on, there is no turning back now”
Aleksey, 37: ”I had a draw a line between my dignity and the reality”
Maksim, 28: ”I will keep taking to the streets until we win”
Ivan, 42: ”Lukashenka’s hatred was the catalyst of our awakening”
”They were beating us as we ran”
”They put a combat grenade inside my underwear”
I carry on and my conviction keeps growing stronger
Lisa’s entire family was arrested
