‘People are dying’: Belarusians warn Lukashenko’s crackdown is far from over

Ihar Ilyash (left) has been sentenced to four years in jail on extremism charges after writing articles critical of Alexander Lukashenko. His wife, Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (right), is serving an eight-year sentence for ‘high treason’. Photograph: Family

As the bus crossed into Lithuania, Mikola Dziadok, newly freed after five punishing years behind bars in Belarus, shouted: “God bless America.”

It was an unlikely cry from a committed anarchist and journalist who had spent almost half of his adult life behind bars for defying Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.