News on the topic: penitentiary system
20.09.2023 Review of the news on political prisoners from September 12 to 19
Viasna reports the latest news on political prisoners in a weekly review.
14.09.2023 Review of the news on political prisoners from September 5 to 12
Viasna writes of the latest news on political prisoners in a weekly review.
11.07.2023 Political prisoner and artist Ales Pushkin dies in prison at 57
The human rights centre Viasna expresses condolences to Ales’ family and loved ones.
31.05.2023 Unveiling the shadows of Škloŭ colony: A former inmate's account on life and work conditions in jail
A survivor of Škloŭ Colony reveals disturbing detention conditions and systemic abuses.
29.05.2023 Behind bars in Belarus: A former political prisoner's account on the red label and restricted freedom
Dzmitry Abramuk provides an eye-opening account of life within these institutions, shedding light on the grim experiences of political prisoners under the regime of Lukashenka.
13.04.2023 “The KGB thought we were a sock puppet farm”: Political prisoner reveals behind the scenes of the Zeltser case
A former political prisoner in the so-called Zeltzer case, told Viasna about her experience.
07.04.2023 Extreme forms of protest used by political prisoners in Belarus
Severe pressure, torture, and unbearable living and working conditions increasingly force political prisoners to express their protest using harsh methods.
22.02.2023 Sports in custody: how the right turned into a method of pressure
People behind bars are not just deprived of the right to physical activity — it becomes another method of pressure from the authorities, when impossible conditions are created for any, even minimal exercise.
11.01.2023 “Gas sprayed into ventilation reached us”: Akrescina facilities detention conditions throughout 2022 in detainees own words
Viasna's month-by-month chronicle shows the scale of repression and how the methods of pressure on Belarusians used by law enforcers and authorities have (not) changed throughout 2022.
15.12.2022 How to send a parcel to a political prisoner from abroad?
At the moment, there are more than 1,400 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus. For most of them any correspondence is blocked, but parcels in such a situation is a reliable way to show support and send the message they’re not forgotten.
11.11.2022 A friend on Yury Kavaliou's coercive mental treatment: “This is nothing less than punitive psychiatry”
The political prisoner has been in a psychiatric hospital since August 2022.
15.03.2022 Heads beaten and ribs broken: how police treats anti-war protesters in Minsk
Former detainee talks about his arrest and conditions in prison
13.12.2021 Mikita Yemialyianau thrown into a punitive isolation cell again
Political prisoner and anarchist Mikita Yemialyianau was thrown into a punitive isolation cell again. In total, he will spend 30 days there.
21.10.2021 “He tore my clothes, beat and insulted me.” Survivor stories
Nearly one year ago, on October 25, Aliaksandra (not her real name) was arrested while she was hiding with her friends in the entrance hall of an apartment building after the dispersal of a peaceful protest in Minsk. She was half strangled with her own scarf and her shoulder was injured. The girl told her story to Viasna.
19.10.2021 Prison conditions for people arrested for commenting on killed KGB officer amount to torture
Most people detained last month for commenting on the Zeltser case are being held in inhumane conditions, according to their families.
