A woman identified as the mother of a Belarusian opposition activist has appeared in a tearful apology video after her apartment was stormed by a group of masked men, forcing her to atone for her child’s political activity.
The clip, shared widely online on Wednesday, was captioned with the words “warriors for [Belarusian President] Lukashenko broke into the home of the mother of a political refugee who is currently sheltering in Poland, and posted a video of her arrest with the caption ‘Parents answer for their children.’ She became the 907th political prisoner.”
The video shows a group of men in ski masks and dark jackets, some of whom are carrying rifles, using crowbars to pry open the door of the apartment. The words “Parents answer for their children” are displayed at the start while an electric guitar soundtrack plays. The video then cuts to the woman on her knees on the floor, answering a question from one of the men.
A number of images that appear to show the woman taking part in street demonstrations against the government are then shown, in one of which she is waving the red and white flag that has become a popular symbol of anti-government protests in Belarus. The video also includes footage of what seems to be her ransacked apartment, as well as a photograph of a rifle, ammunition clip, and baseball bat.
At the end of the video, the woman stands against a bare wall wearing a winter coat. Facing the camera, she states her name and says that she is facing repercussions for causing “mass disorder.”
Belarusian officials have come under fire in recent months for what opposition activists describe as a brutal crackdown on opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko’s government. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the wake of last year’s presidential elections, in which Lukashenko declared victory, with Western nations insisting the vote was rigged in his favor. Many of the protests’ organizers have since moved abroad, and Minsk accuses neighboring Poland and Lithuania of waging a “hybrid war” by hosting opposition figures and banned media outlets.
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In November, a separate video shared on Telegram showed Belarusian police officers, also heavily armed, arresting a man accused of making “blasphemous and insulting” comments about the deaths of two Russian paratroopers. Belarusian authorities later announced that they had detained 11 people for joking on social media about the tragedy.