Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections

Amnesty International has launched an online petition asking to end police violence against peaceful protesters in Belarus.

"As the election approaches on the 9th of August, public mobilisation in opposition to the president, who is seeking re-election, is at its highest in the 26 years of his uninterrupted rule, as people are coming out in protest and making their voices heard.

But these protests are being met with violence and repression. The world has been watching as hundreds of peaceful protesters, journalists and even bystanders have been arrested by law enforcement officers, often using excessive force. In many cases, footage shows people being dragged violently into unmarked vehicles by gangs of unidentified men in plain clothes. One protester told Amnesty International how he was handcuffed and thrown on the floor between the seats of a police vehicle while a man in plain clothes put his foot on his stomach and covered his eyes so he couldn’t see.

This brutal crackdown by Belarusian law enforcement must stop immediately. The people of Belarus must be allowed to make their voices and choices heard through the peaceful exercise of their human rights."

Sign this petition and call for the protection of the rights to free expression and peaceful assembly in Belarus now.

Call on the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus to:

• Immediately end the violent police crackdown against peaceful protestors and journalists;

• Ensure that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression of the Belarusian people are fully respected; and

• Ensure that all law enforcement officials interacting with the public are individually identifiable through name or personal number tags and take all other necessary steps to ensure the full accountability of members of law enforcement agencies and their commanding officers for all their actions.