Belarusian Dissidents' Families Held Hostage.

The families and friends of dissident figures in Belarus are being targeted by the government in retaliation for anti-government actions of their relatives. The crackdown on those who disagree with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko intensified after a widely disputed presidential election in 2020. The families of activists have been subjected to much harsher intimidation techniques than ever before, including raids on their homes. At the time of writing, 1,497 people are behind bars for politically motivated charges. The United Nations believes that the Belarusian authorities use extremism and counter-terrorism laws to suppress dissent.