City authorities in Minsk have put the home of Valer Tsapkala up for auction as part of a broader crackdown on government critics in exile. Tsapkala’s 418.3-square-meter house, listed at 2.1 million Belarusian rubles ($641,500), follows the earlier sale of his apartment in April. Tsapkala, a businessman and former ambassador to the United States, fled the country fearing arrest after his attempt to run for president in 2020 was denied. His assets were seized after he was sentenced in absentia to 17 years in prison for charges including violating national security and financing terrorism. The seizures were enabled by a 2023 law allowing the confiscation of property from individuals deemed to have committed "unfriendly actions" toward the Belarusian state. Last week, authorities seized the family home of journalist Alyaksey Dzikavitski, the acting director of independent news outlet Belsat TV. Other opposition figures targeted under the law include political prisoner Viktar Babarika and opposition leader in exile Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, as authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime continues its repression of dissidents. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.
