The situation of human rights violations remains catastrophic.
According to “Viasna“, at least 987 political arrests were recorded in Belarus in the first quarter of 2024, one-third of which were women.
The majority of arrests occurred in January when 406 cases were registered. The month was remembered for mass arrests due to the food initiative INeedHelpBY. The courts consider receiving humanitarian aid as “threatening to harm state and public interests”. Of those detained, 65 have minor children.
Human rights activists report at least 1,602 trials during this period, with 671 cases heard in February.
In the same month, authorities began enforcing Article 24.15 of the CAO, which deals with “the use of foreign aid to carry out extremist activities”. Human rights activists note that the arrest figures may be higher because they do not have all the information on repression.
