{"id":75696,"date":"2026-05-04T12:18:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T10:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/?p=75696"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:18:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T10:18:54","slug":"annual-conference-2026-mikola-dziadok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/be\/annual-conference-2026-mikola-dziadok\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Conference 2026 Mikola Dziadok"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1830.4px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:20px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-center fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one header-title\">\n<h1 class=\"fusion-title-heading title-heading-center fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Mikola Dziadok<\/b><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igfm.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Header-1920x460-4-1.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><h2 class=\"fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"text-align: center;\" data-fontsize=\"30.77\" data-lineheight=\"46.155px\">\u201e<em><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW100042597 BCX8\">A free Belarus means a free Europe\u201d\u201c<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-3\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\">\n<p><strong>Bonn, April 11, 2026. Presentation at the Annual General Meeting:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Mikola Dziadok is a Belarusian blogger, journalist, and activist who has spent a total of 10 years of his life in prison. After serving his first prison sentence, he was arrested again during the 2020 protests and sentenced to another term of imprisonment. He was finally released in September 2025 and has been living in exile ever since, from where he continues to document the repression in his homeland.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Hello, dear colleagues. My name is Mikola Dziadok; I am a Belarusian blogger, writer, and political activist in exile. Because of my political activities, I have spent a total of 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Today I\u2019m going to give you an overview of the <strong>human rights situation in Belarus<\/strong>, trying to focus not only on how bad things are, but also on how Belarusian civil society, politicians, and human rights activists are trying to deal with this situation. So let me start by explaining the context.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\">\n<h3 class=\"\" data-fontsize=\"21.72\" data-lineheight=\"28.236px\">The video recording of Mikola Dziadok&#8217;s speech<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"--awb-max-width:600px;--awb-max-height:350px;--awb-align-self:center;--awb-width:100%;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top:58.33%;\" ><iframe title=\"YouTube video player 1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TgZHSwMBZb8?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"align-self: center;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:20px;width:100%;\"><div class=\"fusion-separator-border sep-double\" style=\"--awb-height:20px;--awb-amount:20px;border-color:#e0dede;border-top-width:1px;border-bottom-width:1px;\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-5\">\n<p>As mentioned earlier, our story begins in 2020. <strong>Belarus has been ruled by an authoritarian regime since 1994.<\/strong> During Lukashenko\u2019s rule, there have been several waves of protests. However, <strong>the largest and most influential was the wave of protests in 2020,<\/strong> when, following the <strong>rigged elections and incidents of police brutality<\/strong>, <strong>the general public rose up against the regime and demanded new elections as well as punishment for those responsible for torture and murders.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After weeks of hesitation, the authorities responded with an even stronger wave of repression. At least 12 people were killed. Since 2020, thousands have been tortured, and human rights activists are aware of at least 8,000 criminal charges filed against so-called extremists. At least 300,000 to half a million Belarusians have left the country for fear of arrest. To date, more than 900 Belarusians have been recognized as political prisoners by \u201cViasna,\u201d the most prominent Belarusian human rights organization.<\/p>\n<p>Even though some people remain in prison for their participation in the 2020 protests\u2014including for clashes with security forces or guerrilla activities\u2014today, now that the major wave of protests has subsided, the vast majority of <strong>political prisoners are serving their sentences for sharing or creating \u201cextremist\u201d content on social media<\/strong> or for donating to civil society organizations, all of which are officially classified as extremist. Here are the typical types of actions for which Belarusians are prosecuted and imprisoned.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Comments on social media are treated under the Belarusian Criminal Code as incitement or as the dissemination of information that endangers national security.<\/strong> Liking content on social media that criticizes the government is considered support for extremist activities. Donations are regarded as financing extremist activities. The same applies to stories, reposts, and all other types of online content. As I mentioned earlier, several hundred Belarusians have left the country. However, it would be a mistake to believe that one can escape repression by leaving the country.<strong> Typical forms of repression at the border include the confiscation of passports during forced transfer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igfm.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Praesentation-JHV-2026-Dziadok-Belarus.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-6\">\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-7\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Excerpt from Mikola Dziadok&#8217;s presentation<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-6\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I was released on September 11, 2025, thanks to the so-called Trump-Lukashenko Initiative. My passport, which was kept in my official personal file at the prison, was never returned to the Lithuanian authorities upon my forced release and forced transfer across the Lithuanian border. Later, I and other political prisoners learned that our passports had been officially declared invalid in the Ministry\u2019s database. So, even though I now have a Lithuanian ID card and a foreigner\u2019s passport, I am essentially not at home anywhere. The regime continues to conduct trials in absentia. And we are still aware of numerous cases in which relatives of politically active individuals in exile who still live in Belarus are being harassed, fired from their jobs, or even imprisoned. <strong>This is particularly common among the volunteer fighters of the Kalinowski Regiment, who are fighting as volunteers for Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Belarusian authorities use a legal pretext\u2014namely, a legal framework based on the concept of extremism\u2014to persecute critics of the regime.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Since 2020, numerous new laws have been passed and many legal practices developed to systematically eliminate free thought, self-organization, and freedom of expression. And what is also important: Whenever a new law is introduced\u2014and by that I mean repressive laws\u2014the Belarusian authorities always provide a certain amount of accompanying propaganda, claiming that all European countries do the same. This implies that we are not doing anything out of the ordinary. We are merely protecting our country from extremists. What exactly are these legal instruments? The list maintained by the authorities includes more than 4,800 people and lists individuals who have been officially classified as extremists. The individuals concerned are barred from certain professions, including positions in public administration and teaching, and are subject to certain restrictions on financial transactions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Republican List of Extremist Materials: <strong>The Belarusian authorities are desperately trying to compile all possible extremist content into a single list.<\/strong> As a result, this official list of extremist content\u2014which is publicly accessible and has been published\u2014now contains more than 9,000 entries, including, of course, chats and social media profiles. <strong>Every Belarusian activist in exile has a social media page, including me, naturally on all social media platforms such as Threads, Facebook, YouTube, and others listed in such a registry. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">But also books, songs, individual phrases such as Ukrainian political chants, CDs, T-shirts, mugs, and even pins. CDs, T-shirts, records, and even pins. The punishment for storing or distributing extremist content ranges from fines to up to six years in prison, depending on the nature of the content, but above all on the behavior of the convicted person. They pay attention to whether he (or she) is willing to sign a petition for clemency to compensate for the alleged harm to the Belarusian state.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igfm.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Praesentation-JHV-2026-1.jpg\" width=\"635\" height=\"357\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Excerpt from Mikola Dziadok&#8217;s presentation<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-8\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>The regime therefore persecutes people who promote Belarusian national symbols\u2014such as the Pahonja coat of arms (Belarusian for \u201cpursuit\u201d) and the white-red-white flag\u2014in any way, although Ukrainian symbols have also been subject to a tacit ban, so to speak, since 2022.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Even though Belarusian and Ukrainian symbols aren\u2019t officially banned, anyone who promotes them in any way gets into trouble. And of course\u2014and this is my favorite\u2014there\u2019s the daily demonization, stigmatization, and intimidation by the state media; that\u2019s something they really do very consistently and intensely. This intimidation takes the form of verbal attacks, personal threats, and even the dissemination of personal information about dissidents in the state media. It would be a mistake to believe that they use only legal means. Of course, they also resort to illegal methods, such as the widespread use of torture to force people to make Kadyrov-style apology videos.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Among all the cases of oppression, it is important to mention the case of the Belarusian project \u201cBelaruskij Hajun.\u201d<\/strong> The Hajun is a Belarusian forest spirit, a guardian of the forest. It is a surveillance project that was launched in January 2022, shortly before the large-scale invasion. <strong>With the help of a Telegram chatbot, the population collected vast amounts of data on the Russian military on Belarusian territory,<\/strong> which served as a useful supplement for the Ukrainian intelligence services and the civilian population. Due to human error, the personal data of <strong>those who had sent this information to the chatbot was shared with law enforcement agencies, leading to the arrest of at least 183 people to date<\/strong>. That number continues to rise.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igfm.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Beitragsbilder-600x350-7.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em>Mikola Dziadok. Picture: IGFM<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW177412437 BCX8\" lang=\"DE-DE\" xml:lang=\"DE-DE\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW177412437 BCX8\"><strong>Ever since the days of the GULAG, Belarus has had extensive experience in neutralizing political opponents within the prison system.<\/strong> These methods include political labels that are pinned on every political prisoner to identify them as extremists, as well as a stricter prison regime. I mean, in Belarus, political prisoners are subject to much stricter restrictions than rapists, murderers, and robbers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Once again, it is the legacy of the GULAG that drives prison authorities to ally themselves with the criminal underworld in order to suppress enemies of the state. They use criminals as a means of oppression, which includes psychological pressure, harassment, and even physical abuse.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW177412437 BCX8\" lang=\"DE-DE\" xml:lang=\"DE-DE\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW177412437 BCX8\">As a result of this policy, at least nine people have died in custody since 2020. In addition, the Belarusian regime has a unique tool of repression at its disposal: <strong>Article 411<\/strong> of the Belarusian Criminal Code. <strong>Under this article, literally any prisoner can be charged with violating prison regulations. Based on this charge, they can be sentenced to up to two years in prison<\/strong>. And since the internal regulations of every correctional facility are designed in such a way that every prisoner violates at least one rule every second of their life, it is child\u2019s play to convict anyone and extend their prison sentence. Let us now discuss what human rights defenders are doing to counter this.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Above all, the goal is to observe and assess the true extent and methods of the repressive regime. To document these acts in the name of justice, in which we all firmly believe. A crucial step:<strong> In March 2026, the International Criminal Court indicted Lukashenko for crimes against humanity, which is also the result of the thorough work of Belarusian human rights activists and politicians in exile.<\/strong> And, of course, the publishing industry, which in itself poses a threat to the regime, because the regime tries to give the outside world the impression that everything is fine and we are not doing anything out of the ordinary. that everything is fine and we are not doing anything out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.igfm.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Praesentation-JHV-2026-2.jpg\" width=\"565\" height=\"318\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-11 fusion-text-no-margin first_line_post_p\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Auszug aus der Pr\u00e4sentation von Mikola Dziadok<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-12\"><\/div>\n<p>And now for some details. First of all, we try not to portray ourselves as victims of the repressive regime. We challenge the criminal regime. <strong>We are fighting and are responsible for our own future.<\/strong> For Belarus, the defense of human rights is a matter of national importance. It is about preserving our nation, since the Lukashenko regime is fundamentally anti-Belarusian and anti-European. So we have a unique situation, since in many countries\u2014I believe in Germany as well\u2014human rights and politics are quite separate; they are not particularly closely linked. In Belarus, on the other hand, human rights and politics go hand in hand.<\/p>\n<p>The Belarusian regime openly declares its commitment to human rights. In recent years, it has increasingly been claimed that we have our own, authentically Slavic conception of human rights and that we adhere to it, rather than following the Western human rights that have been forcibly imposed on us. Thus, both civil society and the democratic movements are embroiled in a war of values, a war of moral narratives. And the fronts of this war largely coincide with those of the current confrontation between the free world and the obscurantist International*. This activity is therefore political in and of itself, yet at the same time transcends politics. It is a matter of a civilizational choice.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>So why should Europe care about human rights in Belarus? <strong>Because a free Belarus means a free Europe.<\/strong> Human rights mean democratic governance, a more predictable rule of law, and a less aggressive society. An authoritarian Belarus will always be a cause for concern for its European neighbors.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We are therefore convinced that supporting freedom in Belarus is a shared European concern. And that is precisely what we are committed to.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much for your attention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":75750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Annual Conference 2026 Mikola Dziadok - Menschenrechte Osteuropa - News &amp; Konflikte","description":"Mikola Dziadok \u201e A free Belarus means a free Europe\u201d\u201c Bonn, April 11, 2026. 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