The Human Rights Center “Viasna”

06.04.2021 Artist Ales Pushkin is a political prisoner

Joint statement of the Belarusian human rights community

05.04.2021 Political prisoner Kiryl Paulavets convicted, released from custody

Judge Maryna Fiodarava of the Saviecki District Court of Minsk has sentenced political prisoner Kiryl Paulavets to three years in an open penitentiary (“khimiya”), finding him guilty under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code (organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them).

05.04.2021 Political prisoner Yaraslau Zbarouski sentenced to 3 years of “khimiya”, released in the courtroom

The Pieršamajski District Court of Minsk announced today a verdict in a criminal case against 50-year-old political prisoner Yaraslau Zbarouski, who was charged with “active participation in group actions that grossly violated public order” (Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code).

02.04.2021 Dissent is not a crime! We demand the immediate release of political prisoner Volha Zalatar

Joint statement of Belarusian human rights organizations

02.04.2021 Belarus must end pattern of police brutality and impunity: UN experts

UN human rights experts called on Belarus to end the continued pattern of excessive use of force, arrests, arbitrary detention and ill-treatment against protesters and the repression of journalists and media personnel.

02.04.2021 Political prisoner Ihar Rudchyk sentenced to 4 years in prison

The Zavodski District Court of Minsk sentenced 26-year-old political prisoner Ihar Rudchyk to four years in a medium-security penal colony, finding him guilty under Part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code (rioting).

02.04.2021 Human Rights Situation in Belarus: March 2021

The authorities continued to actively prosecute individuals for political reasons. There were 325 political prisoners, as of the end of March, and their number continues to increase.

01.04.2021 Brest court orders “khimiya” terms over Lukashenka’s effigy

Judge Inna Klyshpach of the Maskoŭski District Court of Brest ruled today to sentence two women and a man to various terms of restricted freedom, finding them guilty under Part 2 of Article 339 of the Criminal Code, hooliganism committed by a group of persons.

01.04.2021 Sisters sentenced to prison terms in political trial

Judge Aliaksandr Volk of the Saviecki District Court of Minsk has sentenced Anastasiya and Viktoryia Mirontsava, both political prisoners, to two and two and a half years in prison, respectively, finding the sisters guilty of “breaching public order” (Part 1 of Art. 342 of the Criminal Code) and “using violence against police officers” (Part 1 of Art. 363).

01.04.2021 Tamara Chikunova, known anti-death penalty campaigner, dies at 73

Tamara Chikunova, the world-renowned Uzbek activist of the global abolitionist movement, died in Italy on March 31, the Community of Sant'Egidio said.

31.03.2021 Political prisoners sentenced to “khimiya” terms in Maladziečna

The Maladziečna District Court has announced its verdict in a trial involving six people who blocked a street on November 21.

31.03.2021 Arrested Polish minority activists are political prisoners

Joint statement of the Belarusian human rights community

30.03.2021 Political prisoner Viktar Siadou sentenced to 3 years in prison

On March 30, the Pieršamajski District Court of Minsk handed down a verdict in the criminal case of Viktar Siadou, a political prisoner prosecuted for participation in “mass riots” (Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code). Judge Anastasiya Liaikouskaya sentenced Siadou to three years in a medium-security penal colony.

30.03.2021 Belarus: Older people impacted by state repression

The Belarusian authorities have endangered the health of older protesters who are at higher risk from COVID-19 by transporting them in overcrowded police buses and incarcerating them in packed prison cells, Amnesty International said today. In a new briefing, the organization documented the arrest and ill treatment of dozens of older people who took part in peaceful protests, including one 83-year-old man who was made to stand facing a wall for 90 minutes with his arms raised.