{"id":174216,"date":"2026-02-04T13:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/174216\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"freedom-house-representative-calls-on-us-to-tackle-root-causes-of-reprisals-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/174216\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom House representative calls on US to tackle root causes of reprisals in Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Hasan Almasi \/ unsplash.com)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

February 4, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Securing the release of jailed Belarusian dissidents is not enough to end reprisals in the country, Vytis Jurkonis, head of Freedom House in Lithuania, told a US Congress hearing on human rights in Belarus yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the number of designated political prisoners continues to rise in Belarus, it means ongoing efforts are addressing the symptoms, not the root cause, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington should consistently highlight the conditions of detention in Belarusian prisons and the fate of dissidents after their release, the rights defender noted. The liberation of prominent opposition figures does not absolve Minsk of responsibility for the more than 1,000 others still imprisoned in politically-motivated cases, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US should pressure Belarusian authorities to unconditionally release all jailed dissidents, drop politically-motivated charges and ensure that those freed can remain in the country without fear of forced exile, Jurkonis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US should also make the lifting of sanctions against Belarus conditional on Minsk\u2019s refusal to support Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine and the withdrawal of Russian military forces and nuclear weapons from Belarus, he stressed. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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