‘Persecuted, jailed, destroyed’: Belarus seeks to stifle dissent

Journalists and activists targeted in most wide-reaching crackdown since days of Soviet Union

Church bells rang in the city of Byarozawka as hundreds of mourners laid Vitold Ashurak to rest. They draped the white-red-white flag favoured by the Belarusian opposition over his body, as local police kept a wary eye on the funeral.

Sentenced to five years in prison after last year's mass demonstrations against Alexander Lukashenko, the 50-year-old protest leader survived less than one. When Ashurak's body was returned to his family, his head was entirely covered in bandages - only his mouth was visible, a family friend said.