Valiantsin Stefanovich: detention, trial and release – chronology
“Viasna” spoke with Valentin not only about the absurdity of the prison system and the biting cold of the punishment cell, but also about …
“If they lock me up again—well, then I’ll do the time.” Andrei Pochobut on Freedom, death row, and the right to return.
Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist Andrey Poczobut was released on April 28, 2026, after more than five years in prison and a penal colony, and…
Former political prisoners turned to UN experts over persecution for “disobedience” in penal colonies
Lead. Activists released from Belarus—and those forcibly expelled—have put Article 411 of the Criminal Code (“malicious disobedience” t…
Belarus adds the YouTube channel vDud to the national list of extremist materials
On 30 April 2026, the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus updated the national register of extremist materials …
«Chernobyl Way»: 40 years since the disaster and a march against forgetting
Chernobyl Way is an annual procession of Belarusians on 26 April, marking the anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986…
30 years of “Viasna”: behind the date stand not a chronicle, but human lives.
On April 26, 2026, the Human Rights Center “Viasna” turns 30. Behind this round date stand thousands of appeals, lists of repressions, let…
“This leaves people effectively rightless.” UN condemns Belarus for invalidating passports of exiled citizens
On 20 April 2026, the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus issued two parallel statements: one on “deeply…
Human rights defender Vladimir Telepun detained in Mazyr
Mozyr human rights defender and Chernobyl disaster liquidator Vladimir Telepun was detained on 17 April 2026. He is believed to be held in the te…
Photographer Aliaksandr Shishko detained at Minsk airport on return from Georgia
On 14 April 2026, photographer Aliaksandr Shishko was detained at Minsk National Airport. The information was published on the DissidentBY project web…
Security forces visited ZROBIM Architects’ Minsk office two days in a row: what we know
ZROBIM Architects—one of the most prominent firms in the Belarusian market, with a strong international profile—was in the crosshairs of law enforceme…
The “Hajun case”: what it is, what sentences have been handed down, and how it continues in 2026
Belarusian Hajun is a civic monitoring project launched in early 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Through a Telegram bot and c…
Rita Dakota on why her mother was targeted in Belarus
Singer Rita Dakota (Margarita Gerasimovich), who was born in Belarus and built her career in Russia, spoke publicly for the first time&…
Belarus: political prisoners as of 7 April 2026 — the number, the trend, high-profile cases
Belarus: political prisoners as of 7 April 2026 — the number, the trend, high-profile cases The human rights centre Viasna and partners main…
YouTube removed the channels of BelTA, STV and ONT: what we know
The YouTube video platform (owned by Google) removed the official channels of three major Belarusian state media outlets: the BelT…
Release of political prisoners in Belarus: context and scale
Minsk. In 2025–2026, open sources repeatedly reported mass pardons of people whom human rights groups classify as political p…
Belarus in Freedom House 2026: “Not Free” status and zero scores for the opposition
Freedom House has published the latest Freedom in the World edition for 2026 (covering calendar 2025). In the country ch…
Freedom Day 2026
On 25 March 2026, the 108th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) is marked — Freedo…
“BYSOL couriers”: Minsk City Court sentences four Minsk residents
On 17 February 2026, Minsk City Court handed down sentences against four residents of the capital whom the investigation trea…
As of 31 January 2026: again more than a thousand behind bars
By the end of January 2026, human rights monitors estimated that 1,158 political prisoners were held in places of detention in Belarus.…
“Year of the Belarusian Woman” — 2026: Decree No. 1 and the question of political prisoners
President of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed Decree No. 1 of 1 January 2026, declaring the current year the Year of the Belar…
December 2025: repression did not stop
Even in a month of high-profile pardons, Belarusian human rights defenders continued to record new detentions, searches, and interrogations.…
On 13 December, 123 political prisoners walked free from Belarusian prisons
On 13 December 2025, 123 people were released from places of detention in Belarus. Among them were well-known politicians and…