Since Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s violent crackdown on opposition protests in 2020, hundreds of thousands of citizens have fled the country. But exile has not spared them from continued harassment and intimidation, as dissidents speak of threats from afar many targeting them directly or through their families left behind in Belarus.
One such case is that of 26-year-old journalist Tatsiana Ashurkevich, who continued reporting on events in Belarus after fleeing. Earlier this year, her former Minsk apartment was sealed with construction foam. A suspicious Instagram follower later contacted her, offering “help” in exchange for intelligence on Belarusians fighting for Ukraine prompting her to block him.
These tactics are not isolated. Opposition activists like Anna Krasulina, now press secretary for exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, report frequent anonymous calls and messages, often shifting from friendly to coercive. Both Krasulina and Tikhanovskaya have been sentenced in absentia in Belarus for alleged coup plotting and extremism, a fate shared by over 200 dissidents since a 2022 decree enabled such prosecutions.
Beyond digital intimidation, the Belarusian regime targets dissidents’ relatives. Activists describe authorities visiting their families, seizing property, or pressuring them to cut contact. These moves aim to sever emotional and informational ties between exiles and those inside Belarus. “Even if someone in Belarus understands everything, they’ll think three times before talking to a ‘terrorist’,” says journalist Hanna Liubakova, also sentenced in absentia.
Some exiles, like Artem Lebedko, have been punished solely due to family connections to opposition figures. He is currently imprisoned for “financing extremism,” though he never publicly criticized the regime.
Russia has also aided Lukashenko’s efforts, extraditing at least 16 Belarusians in 2022 accused of “extremist crimes.”
Analyst Andrei Strizhak of the Bysol initiative calls the campaign a “war of attrition” against dissenters abroad. With tactics reminiscent of the Soviet KGB, Belarusian security forces aim to instill fear and suppress activism even beyond national borders. “We’re doing everything we can to stay resilient,” Strizhak says, “but every year, it takes more and more effort.”
