Rights group reports more arrests as Belarus intensifies crackdown on dissent

A Belarusian rights group is reporting dozens more home raids and arrests in the latest intensification of a years-long crackdown on dissent in Belarus

TALLINN, Estonia -- A rights group on Thursday reported dozens more home raids and arrests across Belarus in the latest intensification of a years-long crackdown on dissent in the country of 9.5 million people.

The Viasna human rights center said it knew of at least 159 people targeted by searches and detentions in multiple Belarusian cities, including the capital, Minsk. Those targeted by authorities included relatives of jailed dissidents, journalists and others, it said.

Leaders of Belarusian opposition have called the new wave of arrests, which is the biggest in recent months, “a blow to the solidarity within the country."

According to Viasna, there are 1,419 political prisoners now held in Belarus. Many of those detained Thursday and earlier in the week had been helping families of those jailed for political reasons.

Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko unleashed an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in August 2020, after an election the opposition and the West denounced as a sham gave him his sixth term in office.