•HRES 681 IH 
in 2020, according to PEN America’s Freedom to Write 
Index; 
Whereas at least 54 of the Belarusians currently imprisoned 
in retaliation for their peaceful activism are cultural 
workers or figures, including musician and opposition 
leader Maryia Kalesnikava who was abducted on Sep-
tember 8, 2020, by masked police, jailed, and earlier this 
month was sentenced to 11 years in prison; 
Whereas, in the first 6 months of 2021, 621 cases of rights 
violations against cultural figures took place in Belarus, 
including arrests, detentions, ill treatment, dismissals, 
and other retributions; 
Whereas, since August 2020, there have been at least 400 ar-
rests based on the use or display of national symbols, the 
white-red-white flag, and clothes or objects containing a 
combination of red and white colors; 
Whereas the Belarusian Government has attempted to sup-
press organized human rights and cultural advocacy by 
putting more than 200 human rights and other civil soci-
ety organizations into dissolution procedures; 
Whereas the Belarusian Justice Ministry shut down the 32- 
year old literary group PEN Belarus on August 9, 2021, 
whose members have been forced to evacuate and 4 of 
whom were detained in October 2020 for participation in 
peaceful protests; 
Whereas at least 40 Belarusian students currently face crimi-
nal prosecution for participating in peaceful rallies, in-
cluding 11 students recently sentenced to 2 or 21⁄2 sen-
tences for peacefully protesting, as well as student 
Katsyaryna Vinnikava who was sentenced to 15 days in 
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•HRES 681 IH 
prison after giving a graduation speech in which she hon-
ored peaceful protesters; 
Whereas the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by 
Reporters Without Borders, notes that Belarus fell 5 
places to 158th out of 180 countries this year, and is the 
most dangerous country in Europe for media personnel; 
Whereas, as of June 2021, there have been at least 580 in-
stances of arbitrary detentions of journalists since Au-
gust 2020, with more than 3,000 days spent in jail col-
lectively; 
Whereas at least 27 journalists are currently in jail in 
Belarus, including Darya Chultsova and Katsiaryna 
Andreyeva, who were arrested in November 2020 after 
filming the dispersal of a peaceful protest and sentenced 
to 2 years in a penal colony; 
Whereas 
Belarusian 
blogger 
and 
journalist 
Raman 
Pratasevich was abducted midair during a commercial 
flight passing through Belarusian airspace from Greece 
to Lithuania; 
Whereas, in July 2021 alone, Belarusian authorities raided 
over 200 offices and homes of journalists and activists; 
Whereas Belarusian officials have launched a targeted cam-
paign against independent media, including labeling the 
Polish-funded Belsat broadcast network as an ‘‘extrem-
ist’’ outlet and harassing and jailing journalists working 
for the congressionally funded Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty service; 
Whereas new amendments on Belarus’ Mass Media Law will 
further enable the repression of independent media, in-
cluding by authorizing the Information Ministry to shut 
down media outlets without a court order, banning news 
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•HRES 681 IH 
media from reporting live from unauthorized mass gath-
erings, and extending the right to block and censor 
websites to local prosecutors; 
Whereas the Belarusian Government has repeatedly violated 
user rights online by employing systematic harassment, 
invasion of privacy, and increased surveillance to monitor 
expression online; 
Whereas the Belarusian Government has continually blocked 
political opposition content online and forcibly removed 
politically sensitive content from digital platforms; and 
Whereas the Belarusian Government has blocked at least 20 
websites in a further effort to suppress the free flow of 
information, including 1 of the country’s most popular 
websites, TUT.BY, an independent news, media, and 
service internet portal: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns Belarusian authorities’ egregious 
assault on freedom of expression and human rights 
in Belarus since the August 2020 Presidential elec-
tion; 
(2) condemns Belarusian authorities’ ongoing 
attacks against peaceful protesters, cultural figures, 
journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders; 
(3) calls for the immediate release of journal-
ists, cultural figures, and dissidents currently held 
as political prisoners in Belarus; 
(4) condemns Belarusian authorities’ violations 
of user rights and curtailment of expression online, 
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use of surveillance to monitor expression, suppres-
sion of media access to digital platforms, and block-
ing of political opposition content from digital plat-
forms, as noted in the Belarus Democracy, Human 
Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020; 
(5) calls for the countering of the Belarusian 
authorities’ internet censorship and use of repressive 
surveillance technologies that seek to limit free asso-
ciation, control access to information, and prevent 
citizens from engaging in free expression; 
(6) calls on the Biden administration to support 
initiatives to assist survivors of torture and other 
human rights violations from Belarus, including by 
working with allies in the region to grant them pro-
tection and providing avenues for them and their 
families to access safety in the United States; 
(7) commends the bravery of Belarusians who 
have 
created 
innovative 
ways 
to 
protest 
Lukashenka’s 
autocracy 
and 
applauds 
the 
Belarusian diaspora’s efforts to maintain inter-
national focus on the deteriorating political situa-
tion; 
(8) calls on the Biden administration to exam-
ine all available accountability options for violators 
of human rights and fundamental freedoms; 
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