Belarusian Dictator Threatens to Cut Off Internet in Case of Elections Protests

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko threatens to completely shut down the country’s internet connection if mass protests erupt ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for January 2025, reported Belarusian media BelTa on November 22.

“If mass protests happen in Belarus, the internet will be completely shut down,” Lukashenko said during a meeting with students at Minsk State Linguistic University.

He justified the measure by referring to events in 2020 when internet access was disrupted amid widespread protests against his controversial re-election.

“Do you think I’ll just sit and pray that you don’t write something to someone while the fate of the country hangs in the balance?” Lukashenko said.

The dictator admitted that the decision to block the internet during the 2020 protests was made personally by him, underscoring his control over such measures.

Earlier, Belarus launched a new propaganda platform: a state-controlled video-streaming platform called Videobel, the brainchild of the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko himself.

The website specifically published videos produced by the state and state media that have been blocked from Western audiences and social media channels.