Xiaohongshu
On 1 September, students in Minsk were marking the start of the country's academic year with marches against Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years. In continuation of the month-long peaceful protests, students demanded democracy and new election for which they were violently detained by security forces. Further Police brutality against students occurred on campuses, resulting in illegal detention of students.
As students themselves wrote in the Open Letter to the rector of Minsk State Linguistic University, they ‘tried to protest against gross violations of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which include:
1. falsification of the results of voting in the elections of the President of the Republic of Belarus;
2. gross suppression of peaceful protests of citizens of the Republic of Belarus against this falsification and unreasonable detention of protesters;
3. the inhuman treatment and torture of those detained in these protests.’
Students and their parents, alumni, and staff of many Belarusian universities have expressed their concern about further possible instances of lawless police violence against students.
We, the leaders of the International Community at UCL and the Sabbatical Officers, wish to express our strongest support for students in Belarus, their freedom of speech and right for protest. Students’ voices should not be silenced with violence and fear inside university walls. We stand in deep solidarity with all Belarusian youth cruelly detained and prosecuted by their own government.
To help, consider signing and sharing The Letter of Solidarity by Higher Education Community.