News on the topic: penitentiary system
12.11.2024 At least 15 people were released having served their sentence in October, one of them a woman
Viasna recounts their cases and terms in the monthly digest.
28.10.2024 Former political prisoner Dzmitry Kaneuski: "I felt pressure against me in the penal colony on a daily basis"
For almost eight months before his trial, Kaneuski was held in the Homieĺ pre-trial detention center in appalling conditions: rundown walls, cold, dirt, and stench.
08.10.2024 "People are forced to leave the country." What did a Viasna human rights defender say at the OSCE conference
OSCE Human Dimension Conference is taking place in Warsaw (September 30 – October 11, 2024). A Viasna human rights defender also spoke there. He spoke about Human Rights Center Viasna documenting politically motivated persecution and its constant escalation.
07.10.2024 Yury Ziankovich sentenced to additional 2 years of imprisonment. He is currently in the KGB pre-trial detention center
Viasna has collected all known information about the persecution of the political prisoner as well as about his health.
04.10.2024 Ruslan Akostka: "What is happening in the Belarusian penal colonies is torture"
Ruslan told Viasna about the conditions of detention in the Horki colony and a meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
02.10.2024 Political prisoner Zmitser Dashkevich sentenced to an additional 1 year and 3 months of imprisonment
This time, the activist was charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order), as well as Part 1 of Article 411 of the Criminal Code (malicious disobedience to the requirements of the penal colony administration).
02.10.2024 "It's hard to talk about, but people forget about it." Political prisoner in the Zeltser case on the anniversary of his detention
We publish a monologue by Artsiom Zadrutski on the anniversary of the Zeltser case.
01.10.2024 Philosopher, priest, cycling activist, editor: more than 40 older people remain behind bars
On the International Day of the Older Persons, we share some of their stories.
18.09.2024 "They changed me into regular clothes, gave me travel money and sent me away": how political prisoners are pardoned
One of the pardoned prisoners told Viasna about the suggestion to write a petition for pardon and about the threats for refusal.
05.09.2024 More than 30 political prisoners fully served their sentences in August, and 22 more were pardoned
What political prisoners served their sentences for and how many of them were imprisoned — Viasna recalls their cases.
01.08.2024 At least 43 political prisoners released in July, 18 of them amnestied and pardoned
What political prisoners served their sentences for and how many of them were held in places of captivity, Viasna recalls their cases.
31.07.2024 Belarusian political prisoners in high-security prisons: pressure intensifies
Viasna reports how the administration of the colonies punishes political prisoners and which of the political prisoners are recognized as "malicious violators of the order."
29.07.2024 "They came almost every night": political prisoner speaks about home confinement in Belarus
He spoke with Viasna about home confinement in Belarus and the conditions of detention in the Škloŭ colony.
23.07.2024 "Such a diagnosis in Palina's conditions is like a death sentence." Political prisoner Sharenda-Panasiuk was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis
Recently, Palina's relatives received an official response from the administration of the women's colony No. 24, which indicated that the woman was diagnosed with "moderate chronic pancreatitis."
26.06.2024 "He put a plastic bag over my head and started suffocating me." On the International Day against Torture, we speak about torture in Belarus
Together with the Torture Documentation Department and DIGNITY - Danish Institute against Torture, we talk about examples of torture.