Belarus targets journalists, activists with mass raids

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A human rights group in Belarus says authorities have raided the homes of dozens of journalists and activists. The Viasna human rights center reported that independent journalists, human rights advocates and activists in at least nine large Belarusian cities had phones and computers seized during the searches and were interrogated. In the capital, Minsk, authorities targeted 10 people accused of funding antigovernment protests and spreading information deemed extremist. Some 300 chats on Telegram messaging app have been designated extremist in Belarus. Users of those chats can be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison, if charged and convicted. Since President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed reelection last year, his government has cracked down on dissent.