#FreeViasna

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former political prisoner in #Belarus Ales Bialiatski has warned in an interview with The Times against relaxing sanctions on Lukashenka’s authoritarian regime.

Full interview - www.thetimes.com/article/5216...

⚡️ 15 political prisoners pardoned in #Belarus

In total, 18 people were granted pardons, 15 of whom had been convicted of “extremism-related crimes.”

Most of those pardoned — 11 people — are women.

#FreeThemAll

Behind bars, Belarusian-speaking political prisoners come under special scrutiny from colony staff. According testimonies, for using their native language political prisoners have faced additional pressure, mockery, and abuse from the administration. Many have had to switch to Russian in prison.

#ZeroDiscriminationWeek: Belarusian language in Belarus is effectively under ban

The Belarusian language is increasingly perceived as a sign of political disloyalty. By order from superiors, it is being abandoned in favor of Russian in public administration, education, culture, and the media.

🗣️ Additional pressure and reprisals in prisons are used against those who dare to use their native language.

Those sentenced to restricted freedom or those who remain in Belarus after release face state-level stigmatization and discrimination in employment.

❗Political repression is discrimination

❓What is happening in #Belarus

For nearly 6 years, the authorities have done everything possible to suppress dissent, prosecuting people for expressing views that differ from those of Lukashenka’s regime. Political opponents are handed long prison sentences, and held in inhumane conditions.

#ZeroDiscriminationDay: More than 8,000 critics of Lukashenka’s regime convicted on political grounds

March 1 marks Zero Discrimination Day — day when organizations, initiatives, and activists around the world join forces to raise awareness and take action to eliminate discrimination in all forms.

❗️Two former managers of the independent outlet Intex-Press have been handed lengthy prison terms

Heads of the Baranavichy news portal BAR24 — previously the independent newspaper Intex-Press — Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrei Pakalenka were accused of “treason against the state.”

📢 Ahead of the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, 18 human rights organizations — including Viasna — called for the extension of the mandates of the Special Rapporteur and the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus.

spring96.org/en/news/119655

More than 200 political prisoners are currently behind bars for this.

Viasna breaks down the numbers to show what happens in Belarus to those who oppose the war and support Ukraine.

#StandWithUkraine #StandWithBelarus

❗Fourth year of war — fourth year of repression: how people in #Belarus are prosecuted for supporting Ukraine

Detentions, brutal torture, unbearable detention conditions, and huge prison sentences — this is what hundreds of people in Belarus have faced for their stance and solidarity with Ukraine.

Political prisoner Natalya Levaya was released yesterday after being pardoned by Lukashenka.

Natallia is expecting her first child in March. Her release took place in the presence of a deputy interior minister, her husband, and her mother, under the cameras of pro-government journalists.

✊ Ales Bialiatski commented on the release of Statkevich

“Mikalai, a patriarch of the Belarusian resistance who spent so many years suffering in prison, has finally been released. He achieved what he wanted and remained in #Belarus. It is joy with a bitter taste. Freedom came at a high price.”

⚡️Mikalai Statkevich has been released

This was announced by his wife, Maryna Adamovich, who posted a joint photo on her Facebook page.

“Mikalai is home! He had a stroke, and now he is recovering. He has trouble speaking for now,” the woman wrote.

In another case, two young men were tried in a local technical college for allegedly insulting the state flag.

Students and workers are forced to attend these sessions, where officials warn about criminal punishment—turning courts into tools of public intimidation.

⚖️ #Belarus: authorities are holding “show trials” directly at workplaces and educational institutions

For example, 58-year-old mechanic from Byaroza was sentenced for an online comment about Lukashenka—his trial was held at the factory where he works.

💔 5 years and 5 months ago, Marfa Rabkova was arrested in #Belarus

As a coordinator of Vasna's Volunteer Service, she organized the documentation of political repression and supported victims of state violence. For that, the Belarusian authorities sentenced her to nearly 15 years in prison.

Penal colony No. 2 makes crates for artillery shells and sews uniforms.

Women’s colony No. 4 specializes in sewing backpacks, tactical vests, uniforms, and other equipment.

All of this is produced by prisoners through forced labor.

There are currently 120 companies👉 belpol.pro/en/kto-v-bel...

❗ Forced labor of prisoners in #Belarus is used to support Russia’s war industry.

According to an investigation by BelPol, penal colony No. 9 — where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski also served his sentence — produces components for the Sosna-U sight used in Russian tanks.

💔 Valiantsin Stefanovic remains behind bars in #Belarus

It has been 4 years and 7 months since the arrest of Valiantsin Stefanovic, deputy head of Viasna.

He was sentenced to 9 years in prison for his peaceful human rights work.

Our colleague deserves respect, not imprisonment!
#FreeViasna

❓How a Nobel Peace Prize laureate was treated in a Belarusian prison

Head of Viasna, Ales Bialiatski, spoke in an interview with @rferl.org.web.brid.gy about the conditions of detention in punitive isolation cells. He was placed there repeatedly and spent a total of 38 days in such conditions.

Ales Bialiatski took part in the events of the Norwegian Parliament

The meetings were constructive and took place in a cordial atmosphere, with the main focus on the human rights situation in #Belarus.

More 👉 spring96.org/en/news/119586

❗Viasna has identified at least 175 confirmed defendants in the Belaruski Hajun case. The actual number is likely higher, but the full extent remains unclear due to the Lukashenka regime's efforts to conceal the scale of repression.

More details: spring96.org/en/news/119568

In an interview Alla spoke about her 18 months in the KGB pre-trial detention center and the conditions in the penal colony.

She said that political prisoners in the colony are called the “tenth” category, marked with yellow tags, and given the worst living conditions.

spring96.org/en/news/119563

Alla Sokolenko, a Latvian citizen, traveled to #Belarus for a short visit to have cosmetic surgery. She was detained as she was preparing to leave and was accused of espionage. After more than three years in detention, Alla was released on December 13, 2025.

Photo by Māris Morkāns

🤷‍♀️ Year of the Belarusian Woman: Formality and Reality

#womenrights #noexcuse #politicalprisoners #Belarus

Screenshot of a tweet by UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor, reading: "I'm hearing disturbing news that on 16 January #Belarus declared 3 more Viasna online resources extremist, incl the #FreeViasna & death penalty abolition websites, and a human rights TikTok account. This is part of the ongoing persecution of Viasna & its members, which I’ve raised repeatedly with the Gvt. I remain deeply concerned about obstruction of its work & access to human rights information in Belarus." Below the text is a photo of the flag of Belarus.

🥶 Today in Homiel, it is -25°C. What does this mean for female political prisoners?

A former political prisoner, with tears in her eyes, tells Viasna that during the current severe cold and snow, she often thinks about those still in Homieĺ Penal colony No. 4

spring96.org/en/news/119534

Head of Viasna and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski spoke in an interview with TV RAIN about the inhumane conditions in Belarusian prisons, Lukashenka’s dependence on Putin, his views on the war, and what the Belarusian authorities still fear.

Documenting repression from exile: Human rights work under systematic pressure in Belarus Operating from exile under constant pressure, Belarusian human rights defenders continue to document torture, arbitrary detention, and systemic repression with a long-term commitment to accountability...

How do human rights organizations operate when human rights work itself is criminalized? ⚖️

Pavel Sapelka from Human Rights Center Viasna explains how torture, arbitrary detention, and systemic repression in Belarus are documented from exile under constant pressure.

dignity.dk/en/news/docu...