Yet again, Belarus has been rated Not Free in Freedom in the World, Freedom House’s annual study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide.
With a total score of 19 (five points for political rights and 14 – for civil liberties), Belarus шы in the company of Eswatini and Vietnam.
“Belarus is an authoritarian state in which elections are openly orchestrated and civil liberties are tightly restricted. After permitting limited displays of dissent as part of a drive to pursue better relations with the European Union (EU) and the United States, the government has more recently sought to increase control of the public sphere through restrictions on journalists, online media, and demonstrations. In an apparent attempt to mute criticism of the country’s rights record, penalties for dissent have increasingly taken the form of fines, or have been handed down after delays in order to avoid media coverage,” Freedom House gives an assessment of the situation in Belarus on its website.
Russia has also fallen into the group of Not Free countries (20 points); Ukraine is listed as a Partly Free country (62).
Neighbouring Poland (84), Latvia (89) and Lithuania (91) are among Free Countries.
With 100 points each Finland, Norway and Sweden have topped Freedom In The World-2019 ranking. In turn, Syria, Chinese Tibet and Turkmenistan have hit rock bottom (0, 1, 2 points respectively).
