News on the topic: torture
26.01.2022 The Supreme Court upheld the sentence of political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok
He will be transported to a penal colony to serve his five-year sentence.
10.01.2022 Refusal to investigate torture and six years in prison for Telegram messages
The Hrodna Regional Court considered several criminal cases against 33-year-old Valiantsin Panasik.
29.12.2021 The most high-profile cases of torture in Belarus in 2021
During this year's trials, the society learned about the horrific details of the beating and torture of political prisoners Mikola Dziadok, Stsiapan Latypau, Dzmitry Dubouski, Ihar Alinevich, Siarhei Ramanau and Dzmitry Rezanovich, Volha Zalatar, Yahor Martsinovich, Yegor Dudnikov and Artsiom Bayarski.
08.12.2021 Ruslan Bahdanouski: “Head of the detention center was threatening to rape me with a baton”
A taxi driver Ruslan Bahdanouski left Belarus after serving a 30-day imprisonment and told “Viasna” about the unbearable detention conditions and torture.
22.11.2021 Man with Parkinson’s and brain pacemaker beaten and imprisoned in Babrujsk
There’s a high risk that if the neurostimulator in his head stops working, he might just die.
16.11.2021 Viasna alerts UN Special Rapporteurs to violations of detainees’ rights in Zeltser case
Acting on behalf of the detainees in the “Zeltser case”, human rights defenders of Viasna wrote to several UN Special Rapporteurs on the issue of cruel and inhuman treatment after their arrest and during detention in Žodzina pre-trial prison No. 8.
10.11.2021 Political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok sentenced to 5 years in prison
The Minsk City Court sentenced Mikalai Dziadok, a 33-year-old political prisoner, blogger and anarchist, to five years in a general-security penal colony.
01.11.2021 Germany: Human rights groups file complaint against Belarusian officials
A lawsuit has been filed against a group of Belarusian security officials for crimes against humanity — including torture. Rights groups have asked German prosecutors to take on the case.
28.10.2021 “It’s scary to never see your child back home.” Survivor stories
Alena told Viasna about what many Belarusian mothers went through when their children did not return home last summer. In August 2020, her 17-year-old son disappeared, he was searched for 5 days, and when found, she cried out in horror.
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.
03.09.2021 International Accountability Platform condemns Belarus’s decision not to initiate criminal investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment
The IAPB calls on Belarus to respect its obligations under international law.
27.08.2021 As authorities say they will not prosecute police officers over torture reports, Viasna pledges to continue documenting abuse
The Investigative Committee said yesterday that it would not open any criminal cases, after completing an investigation into some 680 statements filed by post-election protesters to report torture and other types of ill-treatment at the hands of security forces.
06.08.2021 Viasna’s Andrei Paluda leaves Belarus, describes detention conditions as inhuman
Andrei Paluda, human rights defender of the Human Rights Center "Viasna" and coordinator of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus”, has left Belarus after detention and imminent criminal charges.
06.07.2021 HRDs demand investigation into torture and ill-treatment of Mikalai Dziadok and other prisoners
In light of the shocking details of torture and ill-treatment by GUBOP officers, voiced by Mikalai Dziadok in court on 1 July 2021, representatives of the Belarusian human rights community urge the General Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee to institute criminal proceedings, identify those responsible for torture and ill-treatment and take measures to hold them responsible.
