; Whereas, since the 2020 election, Belarusian authorities have arbitrarily detained and brutally assaulted tens of thousands of peaceful protesters, journalists, and opposition figures, of which 1,516 remain in detention; Whereas human rights groups have documented hundreds of horrific accounts of torture, including sexual violence and rape, along with other instances of ill-treatment and excessive force used against detainees arrested for peaceful protest; Whereas human rights groups have also documented specific acts of violence intended to focus on female detainees, including restricting access to hygiene products and sanitary pads; Whereas the Lukashenka regime has penalized the celebration of Belarusian culture and cracked down on the use of Belarusian language in media, books, and schools; Whereas thousands of Belarusians have fled to neighboring countries seeking political asylum; Whereas independent journalists and the free media in Belarus have faced intimidation, violence, mass arrests, and prosecution, with many foreign journalists being stripped of their accreditation; Whereas Belarusian blogger and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Losik was unlawfully arrested in June 2020 and has been sentenced to 15 years in a maximum security prison on charges which represent a violation of the rule of law and the tenets of a free press, and his wife has also been arrested and sentenced unlawfully on the unjust charge of facilitating extremist activity; Whereas a transatlantic community of legislators has emerged in support of uplifting the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people; Whereas in response to an increase in antidemocratic policies by the Lukashenka regime, the United States has enacted a series of punitive measures against Belarus