The increasingly repressive government of Aliaxander Lukashenka continues to clamp down on dissent in Belarus. Human rights defenders, civil society activists, and independent journalists are routinely persecuted for expressing any signs of discontent with the authorities. Hundreds of pro-democracy participants have been punished with administrative or criminal sanctions, frequently in absence of sufficient evidence of an offence having been committed. Violations of detainees’ due process rights, including access to defense counsel, are widespread. The authorities enforce new laws further restricting freedoms of association and assembly. Independent media is virtually non-existent with the exception of a small number of online outlets.