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“Belarusians Abroad Have Stopped Attending Rallies”. Pro-government Media Claims Fact-checked
Fact-checkers at the Weekly Top Fake disputed this claim.
The Investigative Committee of Belarus has expanded the list of suspects in the high-profile “Belaruses Abroad” political case. Telegram channel ZhS Premium claimed that following this announcement, attendees of those “extremist gatherings” abroad started hiding from cameras and ceased participating in protests. Fact-checkers at the Weekly Top Fake disputed this claim.
The IC added 104 names to the list of suspects, according to state-run news agency BelTA. These individuals are accused of participating in extremist organizations and undermining Belarus' reputation, allegedly taking part in Freedom Day protests in March 2024 in the EU and the US.
According to ZhS Premium, these charges deter Belarusians from attending further street actions. On May 16, 2024, the pro-government Telegram channel posted this claim paired with the video showing empty streets and banners hung on the fence of a building opposite the Belarusian consulate in Bialystok, Poland. The video was meant to prove that Belarusians were hiding from cameras and no longer attending protests.
The Telegram post reads: “Joke of the day. After the Investigative Committee initiated criminal cases (with confiscation of belongings!) against participants in extremist gatherings abroad, they were totally hiding from cameras. Another reporting-grant sortie to the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Poland took place without a single person. Grants or no grants, but an apartment back home is closer to the heart”.
The WTF fact-checking revealed that the video was originally posted on a Facebook group for the Belarusian diaspora in Bialystok. The video, however, was dated May 10, a full week before the IC's announcement, made on May 16, 2024.
“Today, May 10, the Belarusian diaspora in Bialystok unveiled a large banner in the square opposite the Belarusian consulate, reading: 'BELARUS IS NOT RUSSIA!' and 'BELARUS ≠ LUKASHENKO'S REGIME!',” the diaspora's Facebook post stated.
