Belarus targets rights activists and journalists with raids

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in St Petersburg on Tuesday (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)

Authorities in Belarus have raided offices and homes of dozens of human rights activists and journalists in a crackdown that comes just a day after the country’s authoritarian president promised to “deal with” non-governmental organisations he accuses of fomenting unrest.

Law enforcement officers raided the homes of several advocates at the prominent Viasna human rights centre, as well as offices of other Belarusian NGOs and homes of activists and journalists in various regions of the ex-Soviet state.