Since 15 June, so-called silent protests have been taking place in Minsk and other Belarusian cities. They are organised through social networks and are intended as an expression of protest against the current situation in the country and of a desire for fundamental change. Protest participants are dissatisfied with the worsening economic and political situation, and for the most part have not been politically active in the past. The protests are held without chanting slogans, without signs, and without the political opposition at their head. Protest participants recognise one another mainly by the fact that from time to time everyone applauds – in a certain sense they are applauding themselves, because they were able to publicly express their dissatisfaction.

Silent protests, July 20, 2011, RFE/RL Belarus service

These protests by hundreds of people, however, have provoked a sharp reaction from the Belarusian government, and in the streets plain-clothes officers have begun pulling – often accompanied by kicking and hitting – protesters into waiting buses. Among the arrested have also been regular pedestrians, non-participants in the demonstrations.

In total since 15 May more than 1,730 persons have been detained. Some have received high fines while others have been sentenced to 15 days’ imprisonment, usually for "public vulgarity".

The harsh crackdowns by non-uniformed members of Interior Ministry security forces contributed to a weakening of the protests in July.

Thirty eight organisations from 16 countries monitoring the situation in Belarus have issued a joint declaration calling on the Belarusian president to ensure that the constitutional rights of the country’s citizens are observed – in particular the right of assembly and the right of free expression.

You can find the declaration on the mass arrests in Belarus here.

On 31 May, Civic Belarus – together with the Solidarity with Democratic Belarus information office – held a press conference and public discussion on politically-motivated judicial proceedings in Belarus. Between February and June in these manipulated trials more than forty post-election demonstration participants were sentenced to prison terms of up to six years. The reason for the convictions was the alleged organisation of mass unrest, but Belarusian officials were unable to provide evidence for anything of the sort in court.

The verdicts were unambiguously politically motivated; the three presidential candidates who most sharply criticised Alexander Lukashenko in the fall 2010 election campaign were sentenced to five, five and a half, and six years’ imprisonment, respectively. The attorneys who defended the accused were intimidated by the KGB, and some had their legal licences revoked. Those among the accused who suffered injuries during the crackdown on a December demonstration were in many cases denied medical assistance despite the fact that some are in acute need of medical attention.

Convictions in connection with December protests,  RFE/RL Belarus service

Some of those sentenced to three or three and half years in prison are very young (the youngest is just 19 years old), and have been imprisoned merely for their participation in a protest against the manipulation of elections. One of them, 21-year-old Mikita Lichavid, refuses to admit his guilt and in prison professes to have been unjustly convicted. For this, he has received – with short breaks – several weeks in solitary confinement. In such custody he is allowed outdoors only once per week, he cannot receive or write letters, and no one can visit him (a prisoner who is not in solitary confinement is entitled to four visits per year, always by one close relative). The alimentation is also significantly worse in solitary confinement.

You can help Mikita and the other prisoners, as well as their families, with a letter as well as through your financial support. The prisoners appreciate the postcards they receive, because they remind them that they have not lost their freedom in vain; they know that the world knows about them and is aware of the cruelty of the Belarusian state system. Also, prison guards are often more attentive to how they behave toward a prisoner who regularly receives many letters from various countries and whose situation is monitored by people outside. Your financial support will be sent to the family of a prisoner and will be used for a lawyer, medicines or clothing to be sent to the prison. In some cases, it can be used for direct assistance to a family that has lost its main breadwinner. You will find more information here.

Members of Civic Belarus - Václav Havel, Jan Ruml, Petruška Šustrová, Petr Bratský, Marek Svoboda, Jaromír Štětina a Martin Vidlák - expressed their solidarity with the political prisoners in Belarus. They sent a letter of support to all 42 charged and sentenced Belarusians, who are on trial for taking part in the demonstration on December 19th, 2010.

You can find the letter in Belarusian here and information about the victims of this case on the webpage on Belarusian human rights organization Viasna.

Belarusian young activists took part in a series of trainings and presentations in the Czech Republic. They created a presentation based on one of the trainings, which describes the usage of internet a various free-of-charge internet tools for the promotion of NGOs and their work. The presentation is available only in Russian.

Presentation for Belarusian activists and NGOs - use of internet for communication and promotion

A group of young activists – representatives of Belarusian non-governmental organizations, political parties and local initiatives – visited the Czech Republic. Some of the participants took part in the local election campaign in Belarus this year – as candidates, or as members of candidates´ teams.