Belarus Daily | 20 Feb

Mass purges of participants in the August protests began at state-owned enterprises and in the security services; a protest took place in support of Katsiaryna Barysevich and Artsiom Sarokin

20 February 2021 | Voice of Belarus
On the 196th day of solidarity actions, the Belarusians of St. Petersburg organized an exhibition called “Country for LI(f)E” (the name of the exhibition is a pun based on changing the name of Siarhei Tsikhanouski’s YouTube channel from “Country for Life” to “Country for Lie”).
Source: t.me/kyky_org

Protests were held in support of Artsiom Sarokin and Katsiaryna Barysevich, and Daria Chultsova was congratulated on her birthday

In Minsk, flowers appeared again in support of Artsiom Sarokin and Katsiaryna Barysevich, who were detained in the case of “zero per mille”. The doctor and the journalist had published data according to which the blood alcohol content of the murdered Raman Bandarenka was 0 ppm, while the authorities stated that Raman had been drunk on the day of his murder. The protest “Flowers instead of prison” was conducted spontaneously. Black sellotape, flowers and posters with words of support appeared in various places around Minsk.

Source: TUT.BY

Also, Belarusians congratulated Belsat journalist Darya Chultsova on her birthday on 20 February. She turned 24. This week, the court passed a judgement: 2 years in a general regime penal colony for a live stream from the Square of Changes. “Dear Dasha, you are a real hero of Belarus!” Minsk residents write to Darya.

Solidarity actions took place in Minsk, where people marched and stood in chains along the roads, as well as in several other cities of Belarus.

Darya Chultsova.
Source: TUT.BY

Independent trade union of Hrodna Azot demands to declare the dismissal of 13 employees illegal

The independent trade union of Hrodna Azot filed a lawsuit against the enterprise. 13 former employees demanded that their dismissal be declared illegal and that they be compensated for the forced absence from work and for moral damages. The court dismissed the case, but according to the representatives of the independent trade union, the decision will be appealed.

Source: hrodna.life

“A purge broke out suddenly and all around”: Minskenergo employees report dismissals

Employees of Minskenergo report that dismissals started at the enterprise last week, allegedly “according to lists provided by the authorities”. They say that employees are offered to write a resignation letter on their own; otherwise, they are fired under an article of the Labor Code, even though there have been no complaints about their work before. The workers themselves attribute this to their participation in solidarity actions and protests after the presidential election in August 2020.

“My boss came and said that there was a command to fire me. And that I could write a resignation letter of my own free will,” said Aliaksandr Danko, a former distribution network service engineer. “The management never had any complaints about my work, I believe they even gave me a certificate last year. And now they came and said, like, quit.”

Also, Valery Ilkavets, who refused to write a resignation letter, has already been reprimanded twice in a week.

Source: TUT.BY

For more information on the events of 20 February 2021, please visit Infocenter Free Belarus 2020: