karach
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Monitoring Report: The Situation of Belarusian Children Refugees with Autism and Other Mental Health Disorders in Lithuania
Belarusian refugee children with autism face severe exclusion in Lithuania, where trauma, legal barriers, and systemic neglect leave them without essential care. Introduction: Refugee children are among the most psychologically vulnerable populations in Europe, and Belarusian children in exile are no exception. Their exposure to political violence, instability, and systemic exclusion places them at heightened…
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Lithuanian Court Practice in Cases Concerning “Threats to National Security” (2022–2025)
Lithuanian courts overwhelmingly uphold secret security rulings against Belarusians and Russians, relying on classified evidence and uniform judgments. This report examines how Lithuania’s administrative courts handle cases in which foreign nationals—primarily from Belarus and Russia—are denied residence, expelled, or labelled a “threat to national security” based on secret conclusions of the State Security Department (VSD).…
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Submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Belarus
This UPR report, submitted for the 50th session in November, documents serious human rights violations in Belarus amid its hybrid involvement in the war in Ukraine — including the militarisation of children, systemic repression, and the erosion of civil liberties. It places particular focus on the persecution of conscientious objectors, deserters, draft evaders, human rights…
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Belarusian Prisoners for Peace in Belarus
On December 1st, the world observes the Day of Prisoners for Peace. Our House calls for support for those sentenced in Belarus for refusing to participate in violence and protesting against the authoritarian regime. December 1 marks over six decades of the Day of Prisoners for Peace. This day serves as an expression of solidarity…
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Humanitarian Aid in Lithuania: Two Records – One Broken, One Not
This Sunday, 30 November, activists of Our House and supporters of this Belarusian organization—now operating in exile in Lithuania—unloaded yet another humanitarian truck, the twentieth so far. The shipment was sent by our long-term German partner, IGFM-Wittlich. What does this look like? This truck carries 90 cubic meters of boxes, bags, bicycles, and food. What can we compare…
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Assessing ICAN’s Global Nuclear Disarmament Campaign
ICAN’s rise from Australian initiative to Nobel-laureate network shows how civil society turned a anti-nuclear norm into law amid growing global tensions. The review examines the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) as a global advocacy network that helped deliver the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It traces how an initiative launched…
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Polish Monk Detained in Belarus on Espionage Charges
Polish Carmelite monk Grzegorz Gawel is held in Belarus on unfounded espionage charges, denied legal access and treated as a political prisoner. This dossier documents the detention of Grzegorz Gawel, a Polish Carmelite monk arrested by Belarusian security services in September 2025 and charged with espionage. Belarusian authorities claim he possessed a photocopy of a…
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Lithuanian Media Exposes Rape of Male Refugees in Closed State Centres in Lithuania
Independent Lithuanian news outlet Delfi has published a detailed investigation revealing systematic sexual violence against young male refugees inside Lithuania’s closed migration and detention facilities. The report, written by journalist Vitaute Merekaitė and released on 16 October 2025, documents testimonies of Iraqi men raped by a psychologist working in state institutions, raising urgent questions about…
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Belarus Confiscates Olga Karach’s Apartment in Retaliation for Her Human Rights Work
It is no secret that Belarusian human rights defender Olga Karach is one of Alexander Lukashenko’s personal enemies and among the most persecuted activists in the country, and the regime’s escalating attacks on Our House and its leaders show how profoundly it fears their human rights work. It has now become known that the apartment…
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Amnesty International Named Olga Karach Human Rights Defender of the Year: A 2005 Retrospective
Today marks a milestone: it has been twenty years since Olga Karach was named Human Rights Defender of the Year — not just by anyone, but by Amnesty International Belarus. Yet even two decades ago Olga was already an established figure: a teacher, a civic activist, and a politician. By that time she had graduated…
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Olga Karach participated in a UK parliamentary online discussion on nuclear risks
On 25 November 2025, Olga Karach, Director of “Our House”, took part in the online presentation of the new UK study Stepping Back from the Brink – The Myths of Tactical Nuclear Weapons and Limited Nuclear War. The event brought together key members of the UK Parliament and leading nuclear security experts, including Baroness Christine…
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Transboundary River Security Risks in the Viliya/Neris Basin Under Rising Region Militarization
A fragile Baltic watercourse faces mounting pressure as nuclear operations, military mobility projects, and ecosystem obligations collide. The Viliya–Neris basin now holds overlapping nuclear, environmental, and strategic functions. Its role as a protected Natura 2000 corridor contrasts sharply with its use as the primary cooling source for the Belarusian NPP and with expanding Lithuanian military…
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Belarus’s Nuclear Policies Under Human Rights Scrutiny
A joint UPR filing urges Belarus to end nuclear hosting, restore its nuclear-free status, and align security policy with human rights law. Submitted for the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (50th session), this dossier—led by the World Future Council with Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Basel Peace Office, Citizens for Global Solutions, the International…
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Raman Bandarenka: A Symbol of State Impunity
Designer Raman Bandarenka was beaten to death in Minsk in 2020. His case became a symbol of unpunished violence in Belarus. Raman Bandarenka, a 31-year-old artist and shop manager from Minsk, was brutally beaten by plain-clothed men in the “Square of Changes” courtyard after defending peaceful protest symbols. He died the next day from severe…
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Belarusian Priest Sentenced in Secret Trial
Catholic priest Andzhei Yukhnevich, recognized as a political prisoner, was secretly tried and sentenced in Belarus to 13 years in prison. Fr. Andzhei Yukhnevich, a Catholic priest from the Vitebsk region, was detained in May 2024 and later convicted behind closed doors in Shumilina. Human-rights groups denounce the trial as politically motivated and warn of…
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Belarusian human rights defender Olga Karach receives the Italian Peace Prize
Belarusian WHRD Olga Karach receives the Italian Peace Prize for her long-standing work for peace and human rights The director of the Belarusian human rights organization Our House, Olga Karach, took part in the opening of the Peace Festival in the Italian city of Brescia and became the laureate of the Peace Prize traditionally awarded…
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Olga Karach in Tertio — the leading Catholic magazine in Belgium
Olga Karach, Director of the organisation Our House, has given a long and detailed interview to Tertio, Belgium’s leading Catholic weekly. In the interview, she speaks about efforts to build peace, protect human rights, and address the challenges faced by our war-affected region. Olga reflects on conscience, solidarity, and the vital role of civil society…
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EBCO Appeals for Asylum for Belarusian Conscientious Objector
The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection urged Lithuania to grant asylum to Belarusian objector Hleb Smirnou. The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) has issued an urgent appeal to the Lithuanian authorities, calling for protection and political asylum for Belarusian conscientious objector Hleb Smirnou. In its detailed statement, EBCO argues that deporting Hleb to Belarus…
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Letters for a Prisoner of Conscience: Free Father Henryk
Write a letter to a prisoner of conscience — a Catholic priest persecuted for his faith. As Christmas approaches, we all hope for miracles — and believe that miracles can happen. But today, in Belarus, a Catholic priest is behind bars for his faith. Father Henryk Okolotovich, a parish priest from Volozhin, was arrested in…
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World BEYOND WAR Supports Conscientious Objectors
WBW has issued a statement defending Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian conscientious objectors and deserters. One of the world’s largest anti-war networks, World BEYOND WAR, has released a statement in support of Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian conscientious objectors and deserters. Our House is an affiliated member of this international movement and, together with colleagues from Russia,…