17:00 Searches in apartments of young activists take place in Pinsk

In Pinsk criminal investigators carried out searches in apartments of young activists Vadzim and Makeeu and Dzmitry Badzevich.

16:44 Belarusian military forces prepare response to US missile defence system

The Belarusian military have extremely negative attitude towards the American missile defence system in Poland and are going to take appropriate steps.

15:36 Police tries to break in apartment of opposition activsit

Policemen are trying to break into the apartment of the head of Mahilyou headquarters of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) Alyaksandr Irkho.

14:53 US Department of State high-ranking official arrived to Minsk

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs David A. Merkel has arrived to Minsk today. He plans to meet with Belarusian officials and members of the democratic opposition.

13:51 Syarhei Pankouski: “Kazulin may return to prison at any moment”

“I personally highly appreciate the decision of the Belarusian authorities on releasing political prisoners. It was absolutely immoral to keep them in prisons,” Belarusian politologist Syarhei Pankouski thinks.

13:35 10 political prisoners are left in Belarus in reality

In reality, there are 1o more political prisoners left in Belarus.”Restriction of freedom” for persons on trial at “the Process of Fourteen” is a very strict measure of restrain.

13:35 Andrei Kim: “I was arrested on outrageous formulation and released in the same way” (Video)

Political prisoner Andrei Kim left the Babruisk penal colony today. Like Alyaksandr Kazulin and Syarhei Parsyukevich, he was released by the order of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Russia’s Ambassador to Belarus Aleksandr Surikov said possible improving of relations of the Belarusian authorities with the EU and the US that might follow the release of political prisoners, couldn’t make relations with Russia worse. However, he noted that the official Minsk had fulfilled only one of the West’s conditions.

11:36 Yauhen Afnagel: “Release of political prisoners is victory of our solidarity”

“Opposition has got a very important victory, as we see what we have been fighting for the last few years, release of all political prisoners who had been kept in prisons,” stated an activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Yauhen Afnagel.

11:24 “European Belarus” activist Paval Kuryanovich in jail on Akrestin Street

Activist of the “European Belarus” civil campaign Paval Kuryanovich is still in a jail on Akrestin Street in Minsk. On 8 August, the oppositionist was sentenced to 15-day arrest on a false charge of “hooliganism”.

11:07 Russia's Flashback To 1968

Forty years ago this week, on the night of Aug. 20-21, 1968, thousands of tanks and hundreds of thousands of Soviet and Warsaw Pact soldiers entered Czechoslovakia. The goal of the invasion was straightforward: to prevent a Soviet satellite from carrying out democratic reforms that, had they been allowed to succeed, could have threatened the legitimacy of the governments of other Soviet satellites and, indeed, of the Soviet Union itself.

10:18 Pressure placed both on those who collected signatures and those who signed

On August 20 chief doctor of Dobrush regional hospital Ala Maskalenka summoned workers of this hospital who signed for nomination of opposition activist Adam Varanets as a candidate for deputy in Homel rural constituency No. 37.

9:41 Will person involved in Process of Fourteen be amnestied?

An activist of the opposition Alyaksei Bondar, who had been sentenced to 2 years of restriction of freedom in the “Process of Fourteen”, has stated that he would seek amnesty of all punished for protest rallies of market vendors in Minsk in January.

9:08 Lukashenka supported Russia in war against Georgia

Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with heads of the unrecognised republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia Eduard Kokoity and Sergei Bagapsh yesterday.

8:10 Deputy Assistant Secretary of State to visit Minsk

The US welcomes release of political prisoners Syarhei Parsyukevich and Andrei Kim. A high-ranking official of the US Department of State goes to Minsk today.