Transnational Repression as an Instrument of State Terror under the Lukashenko Regime

Photo: NAM Media

Theses of the Speech by Pavel Latushka, Delegate of the Coordination Council and Member of the Belarusian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, delivered at a Special Event of the PACE titled “Understanding Transnational Repression: Risks, Patterns and Implications for Europe’s Democratic Space and Its Most Vulnerable Democracies” during the PACE Winter Plenary Session (26–30 January 2026)

29.01.2026

Mr President,  Dear colleagues,

I see it as my task today to reveal the circumstances of the extraterritorial persecution of Belarusians, which could be the largest case of transnational repression in Europe.

In 2020, following a fraudulent presidential election, Aliaksandr Lukashenko’s regime launched an extensive campaign of internal repression. Its goal, articulated by the dictator himself, was to “cleanse” Belarusian society of all deemed disloyal. For years, these actions went unpunished, leading to tens of thousands of arrests and imprisonments, and ultimately to mass expulsions and further extraterritorial persecution of those the regime considered  “disloyal”.

Deportation

According to the 2025 report of the United Nations Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, up to six hundred thousand people have left Belarus since 2020. This represents six point four percent of the country’s population at that time.

The overwhelming majority of those targeted fled Belarus because of repressive conditions and oppression. The UN Group of Independent Experts confirmed that people left due to a well-founded fear of arbitrary arrest, detention without a fair trial, torture, threats of child removal, and restrictions on the right to work and access to education.

Nearly all victims interviewed  reported that they had no genuine choice but to leave.

In addition to creating oppressive conditions, the regime actively resorts to direct physical deportations. The expulsion of political prisoners is a striking example. On the screen, you can see a direct quote from one of the victims.

I would like to once again underscore — six point four percent of the population. This is an unimaginable figure, representing an irreparable demographic loss for our nation.

Photo: NAM Media

Transnational repression

Forced expulsion from Belarus is not the end of the suffering for those targeted, but rather the beginning of transnational persecution by the regime. These repressive actions affect everyone who has left Belarus due to political persecution or the fear of such persecution.

Human rights organizations have documented that these abuses intensify every year and now affect almost all those expelled from the country.

Notably, already in 2023, Belarusian consulates have stopped issuing and renewing passports, leaving hundreds of thousands of Belarusians at the risk of de facto statelessness, as well as other important documents, such as a power of attorney required for property transactions. As a result, those targeted are deprived of the ability to travel or obtain the documents necessary for a normal life abroad. Today, we can already speak of dozens of children who were born without the ability to obtain a passport.

Additionally, the regime unleashed a campaign of judicial harassment, using trials in absentia against Belarusians abroad to persecute those who speak out against Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s regime. As of December 2025, the authorities have launched hundreds of criminal proceedings against Belarusians in exile, with Human Rights Center Viasna reporting at least 200 trials conducted in absentia. Such trials are typically conducted in blatant violation of internationally recognized fair trial standards, and with most independent lawyers forced into exile, disbarred, imprisoned or effectively silenced. Almost no one is left to defend those charged on politically motivated grounds. Individuals must always fear that they have been included in the Belarusian wanted list, and consistently face uncertainty and risks of detention or deportation when travelling. The regime does not even shy away from abusing Interpol’s red notice system to persecute Belarusians on politically motivated grounds.

Such procedures often end in draconic sentences of up to 20 years of imprisonment - for simply exercising fundamental human rights, for openly opposing the atrocities committed by the Belarusian regime, and for showing solidarity and support for those persecuted by the regime.

In parallel, the authorities do everything they can to intimidate and silence Belarusians abroad - by threatening them and their family members remaining in Belarus, by surveilling them abroad.

By creating an atmosphere of fear and distrust in the Belarusian diaspora to discourage Belarusians from speaking up. 

Conclusion

Transnational repression has become a systematic tool used by authoritarian regimes to pursue their opponents beyond national borders. However, the Lukashenko regime has taken these practices to a scale that meets the definition of persecution as a crime against humanity, over which the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction. Impunity has been one of the key drivers enabling the expansion of these repressive practices.

Will justice remain blind and silent?

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