Amid an intense crackdown on dissent, Belarus's Supreme Court ordered the closure of the longstanding opposition United Civil Party, the Vyasna rights group said on August 15. This follows the recent dissolution of the prominent Belarusian Popular Front Party on August 14. United Civil Party leaders, including Nikolay Kozlov, Oksana Alekseeva, and Antonina Kovaleva, were earlier sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for taking part in 2020 Minsk protests. Since the start of this year, Belarusian authorities have also stopped the activities of the Green Party, the Republican Party, the Social Democratic Party of People's Accord, and the Belarusian Social Democratic Party. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.
Belarus Shuts Down Opposition United Civil Party As Civil Society Crackdown Continues
A 2022 congress of the United Civil Party in Belarus