Belarus convicts a famous dissident rock band and sentences its members to correctional labor
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Friday convicted a famous dissident rock band, designating the band and its three members as extremist and sentencing them to two years of correctional labor. It was the latest in a yearslong crackdown on dissent that has engulfed this country of 9.5 million people.
Nizkiz band members — Alyaksandr Ilyin, Siarhei Kulsha and Dzmitry Khalyaukin — were charged with “organizing and plotting actions grossly violating public order.”
In 2020, when Belarus was rocked by mass protests that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term in office in a disputed election, the band released “Rules,” a song that became the protests’ anthem. A music video for the song was filmed at one of the demonstrations against the country’s authoritarian leader.
Lukashenko’s government unleashed a brutal crackdown in response to the protests, arresting more than 35,000 people and violently beating thousands. Many have been labeled as “extremists,” a designation frequently used against critics. The repressions have continued to this day.
Related articles
The unstoppable duo of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos
CANNES, France (AP) — Before a journalist has even lobbed a question, Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimo2024-05-21Estimated cost of World Cup matches in Vancouver has doubled since 2022
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The estimated cost of staging matches at BC Place Stadium during2024-05-21Watch where you're going! Heart
This is the shocking moment a motorist narrowly avoids a head-on crash after driving the wrong way d2024-05-21- A French D-Day beach café owner who banned squaddies 'because they're English' has dismissed the cla2024-05-21
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient
Elon Musk’s Neuralink has been given a green light to implant its brain chip in a second patient aft2024-05-21Nonstop Mideast coverage of Israel
JERUSALEM (AP) — After weeks of nonstop coverage of destruction and death in the Gaza Strip, media a2024-05-21
atest comment