TALLINN, Estonia — Over the past four years, more than 500,000 Belarusians have fled their country amidst a severe crackdown on political dissent by the authoritarian regime. However, many find that they cannot evade intimidation and threats even in their new homes abroad.
Dziana Maiseyenka, 28, experienced this firsthand when she was unexpectedly detained while crossing the border from Armenia to Georgia, where she had sought refuge from Belarus a year earlier to escape what she described as a tumultuous situation at home. She was informed that authorities in Minsk had issued an international arrest warrant against her for allegedly “organizing mass unrest.”
As President Alexander Lukashenko gears up for his seventh term to prolong his decades-long rule, opposition figures in exile assert that his regime is escalating pressure on Belarusians residing abroad. The goal is to stifle any opposition support from overseas and prevent a recurrence of the mass protests that erupted following the disputed 2020 election.
In the aftermath of the widely criticized election, which led to large-scale demonstrations and the arrest of over 65,000 individuals in the past four years, including prominent activists and opposition leaders, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who currently resides in Lithuania, highlighted a systematic campaign by Belarus against dissidents living abroad. She anticipates increased repression against Belarusians outside the country in the lead-up to the 2025 election.
The Belarusian government is reportedly infiltrating the diaspora to monitor and surveil exiled individuals, with reports of authorities initiating numerous criminal cases and extradition requests against dissidents abroad. This has instilled fear and prompted concerns of potential reprisals for those speaking out against the regime from overseas.
The situation has led to the creation of “people’s embassies” in various countries to safeguard the interests of Belarusians abroad. However, Belarusian authorities have condemned these entities as extremist groups, threatening severe penalties for any collaboration with them.
Furthermore, the regime’s reach extends to individuals who have children born abroad and are unable to return to Belarus for passport renewals, potentially leading to issues of citizenship and statelessness. Those who do attempt to return home to address documentation concerns risk arrest and coercion, as illustrated by the case of Katsiaryna Mendryk, a student facing years in prison after a forced confession.
While some like Maiseyenka have managed to avoid extradition and return safely to their adopted countries with intervention from advocacy groups, the broader climate created by Lukashenko’s government has left many Belarusians feeling vulnerable and exposed, even beyond the country’s borders.
