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Such a statement was made by the US State Department following recent raids on relatives of political prisoners and former political prisoners in Belarus.
Miller stressed that the United States condemns such detentions, the broader suppression of human rights in the country and attempts to hinder the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people.
“We will continue to hold the regime accountable through sanctions and other means for its brutal internal repression and its continued support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” the State Department spokesperson emphasized.
On January 23, the Belarusian State Security Ministry carried out mass raids against former political prisoners and relatives of current political prisoners. The raids continued the next day. The Belarusian human rights protection organization Vyasna reported that the Belarusian security service arrested or interrogated at least 160 people in one day.
Law enforcement decisions included articles on financing and participation in extremist formations.
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinoviča-Burica condemned the recent wave of raids and arrests in Belarus.
The raids took place ahead of the so-called parliamentary elections in February. It will be the first major election show since 2020, when Belarus was gripped by mass protests that erupted after the presidential election. Once again, authoritarian leader Lukashenko was declared the winner. Both the Belarusian opposition and the West believe that the election results were manipulated. Belarusian authorities cracked down on the demonstrations harshly, arresting more than 35,000 people and brutally beating thousands. Dozens of rights groups and independent media outlets were also shut down.
There will also be no real opposition in the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 25th.
According to information available to Vyasna, there are currently 1,419 political prisoners in Belarus.
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