Values, Struggle, and Freedom: A Global Perspective
- CIVICUS speaks with Belarusian activist, blogger and journalist Mikola Dziadok about his experiences as a two-time political prisoner and the repression of dissent in Belarus.
- Amid continued repression, belarus experienced two limited waves of political prisoner releases in 2025.
- During the 2020 uprising, I ran Telegram and YouTube channels where I shared political analysis, explained what was happening and gave people advice on how to resist repression.
CIVICUS speaks with Belarusian activist, blogger and journalist Mikola Dziadok about his experiences as a two-time political prisoner and the repression of dissent in Belarus. Mikola was jailed following mass protests in 2020.
Amid continued repression, belarus experienced two limited waves of political prisoner releases in 2025. In September, authorities freed around 50 detainees following diplomatic engagement, and in December they pardoned and released over 120, including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski and opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova. Many were forced into exile. Human rights groups stress that releases appear driven by geopolitical bargaining rather than systemic reform, with over 1,200 political prisoners believed to remain behind bars.
Why were you arrested following protests in 2020?
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I was arrested because I was not silent and I was visible. During the 2020 uprising, I ran Telegram and YouTube channels where I shared political analysis, explained what was happening and gave people advice on how to resist repression. I talked about strategies to protect ourselves, counter state violence and survive under authoritarian pressure. The regime viewed this as extremely threatening.
By that time, I had around 17 years of experience in the anarchist movement, which is a part of a broader democratic movement in Belarus. But most people who joined the protests weren’t political at all: they’d never protested before, never faced repression, never dealt with police violence. They were desperate for guidance, particularly as there was an facts war between regime propaganda, pro-Kremlin narratives and independent voices.
Authorities made a clear distinction between ‘ordinary people’ who apologised and promised never to protest again,who were released,and activists,organisers and others who spoke publicly,who were treated as enemies. I was imprisoned because I belonged to the second category.
what sparked the 2020 uprising?
By 2020,Belarus had already lived through five fraudulent elections. We only had one election the international community recognised as legitimate, held in 1994. After that, President Alexander Lukashenko changed the constitution so he could rule indefinitely.
For many years, people believed there was nothing they could do to make change happen. But in 2020, several things came together. The COVID-19 pandemic left the state’s complete failure exposed. As authorities did nothing to protect people, civil society stepped in. Grassroots initiatives provided information and medical help. People suddenly saw they could do what the state couldn’t. From the regime’s outlook,this was a very perilous realisation.
But what truly ignited mass mobilisation was violence. In the first two days after the 9 August presidential election, over 7,000 protesters were detained.Thousands were beaten, humiliated, sexually abused and tortured. When they were released and showed their injuries, the images spread through social media and Telegram, and people were shocked. This brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets, protesting against both election fraud and violence against protesters.
What’s the situation of political prisoners?
Since 2020, over 50,000 people have spent time in detention, in a country of only nine million. There have been almost 4,000 officially recognised political prisoners, and there are now around 1,200, although the real n
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What is the Digital Services Act (DSA)?
The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a landmark European Union law designed to create a safer digital space for users and hold online platforms accountable for illegal and harmful content. It establishes a extensive set of rules for all digital services operating within the EU, ranging from social media platforms to online marketplaces. The DSA officially entered into full application for all services on Febuary 17, 2024, though certain provisions for Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) took effect earlier.
The DSA aims to address issues like the spread of illegal content, disinformation, and harmful products online. It introduces obligations for platforms based on their size and risk profile, with the most stringent requirements applying to the largest platforms that reach a notable number of users in the EU. These obligations include enhanced transparency, content moderation processes, and user redress mechanisms.
For exmaple,Meta (Facebook and Instagram) was designated as a VLOP on April 26,2023,and later had to publish its first transparency report on February 16,2024,detailing its content moderation efforts. The European Commission published a summary of these reports, highlighting key findings and areas for betterment.
Who Does the DSA Affect?
The DSA impacts a wide range of online services, but the specific obligations vary depending on the service’s size and role. It affects all digital services operating within the EU, nonetheless of where the company is based, if they offer services to users in the EU.
The DSA categorizes services into different tiers: “intermediary services” (like internet service providers), “hosting services” (like cloud storage), and “online platforms” (like social media and marketplaces).VLOPs and VLOSEs, defined as platforms with 45 million or more monthly active users in the EU, face the most extensive requirements. These include annual risk assessments, independent audits, and the implementation of crisis response mechanisms.
As of January 23, 2026, 22 companies have been designated as VLOPs or VLOSEs. A current list is maintained by the European Commission, including companies like google, Apple, Amazon, and TikTok.
What are the Key Obligations Under the DSA?
The DSA introduces several key obligations for online platforms,designed to increase accountability and protect users. These obligations include enhanced transparency requirements, stricter content moderation rules, and new mechanisms for user redress.
Specifically, platforms must provide users with clear information about why content was removed or restricted, offer effective mechanisms for reporting illegal content, and implement measures to counter the spread of disinformation. VLOPs are also required to conduct risk assessments to identify and mitigate systemic risks, such as the spread of illegal content or the manipulation of elections. They must also allow vetted researchers access to their data for research purposes.
The DSA also introduces a new system for trusted flaggers, allowing organizations with legitimate interests to report illegal content to platforms. The European Commission launched the trusted flagger scheme on February 1, 2024, enabling eligible organizations to benefit from faster and more effective content removal procedures.
What are the Penalties for Non-Compliance?
Non-compliance with the DSA can result in significant penalties,including fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue. Repeat offenders could even face a ban from operating within the EU.
The European Commission has the power to investigate and enforce the DSA, and national Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) in each EU member state also play a crucial role in supervision and enforcement. The Commission can impose fines for violations of the DSA, and national authorities can also issue fines for certain infringements.
in December 2023,the European Commission launched formal investigations into X (formerly Twitter) over potential breaches of the DSA,specifically concerning the spread of illegal content and disinformation.