31 May — Svetlana Alexievich’s birthday. Independent Belarus’s first Nobel literature laureate turns 78
On 31 May 1948, Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich was born — winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature. She is the first recipient of the award in the history of independent Belarus and the first Russian-language …
“I wanted nothing but to disappear.” Former political prisoner told Zerkalo about two suicide attempts — at Volodarka and in a penal colony
“At that time I wanted nothing — only to disappear, to die, to stop suffering,” recalls former political prisoner Alexey in an interview with Zerkalo. Behind bars he twice tried to take his own life: first at the detention ce…
Tikhanovskaya in Kyiv. Zelensky invited the president of Belarus — the opposition leader came instead. What was said and how Lukashenko responded
On 25–26 May 2026, Belarusian democratic forces leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya made her first official visit to Kyiv at the invitation of Volodymyr Zelensky. The trip came right after Alexander Lukashenko…
“Belarusians Will Be Punished” — Our Phrase of the Year. What can get you fined in 2026, and why this post went viral
A man listed things that can earn you a fine in Belarus: noisy outdoor recreation, photos in rapeseed fields, picking lilac, bicycles in the hallway, scooters on the staircase, even snow around a parked car. The post went viral instantly, and co…
Singer Alexey Khlestov detained. 14 days of arrest after interview about stage ban and an Instagram video
On the evening of 21 May 2026, security forces detained popular Belarusian singer Alexey Khlestov and took him to the Okrestina detention centre. The next day a court sentenced him to 14 days&nbs…
“You’re a mother — we’ll show this”: intimate photos used as pressure on women during interrogation
After the 2020 protests in Belarus, a phone taken at interrogation is often not only a source of “evidence” about marches and chats but a lever for sexualised humiliation. One account — from a Belarusian woman detained in 2022, called Vera&…
Investigative committee goes after Mikhalok. Special proceedings opened on two charges — incitement of hatred and insulting Lukashenko
On 18 May 2026 Belarus’s Investigative Committee placed Sergey Mikhalok, founder of Lyapis Trubetskoy, on the list of people facing special proceedings. He is accused under Art. 130(1) (inciting social hatred o…
Five years ago— TUT.BY was raided. “It is hard, it hurts, it is unjust”: on the anniversary, Marina Zolotova speaks of Lyudmila Chekina
On 18 May 2021 security forces searched the offices of Belarus’s most popular independent outlet, TUT.BY. That began a crackdown after which 15 people were jailed on contested charges. One of them — C…
After five and a half years in prison: what Marfa Rabkova says about forgiving, her father, and the people on the other side
Marfa (Maria) Rabkova, coordinator of the volunteer service at the Belarusian Viasna Human Rights Center, spent roughly five and a half years behind bars. After her release she spoke at length about how she had changed, how she lived throug…
Human rights in Belarus. April 2026
Independent monitoring in April 2026 still points to a severe situation along three lines at once: politically motivated criminal prosecution and the prison system, administrative suppression of any unsanctioned gatherings, and&nb…
Gomel: widespread “preventive talks” with former political prisoners — what human rights defenders report
According to the regional office of the Viasna Human Rights Center — Homieĺ Viasna — the city has seen widespread practice of summoning former political prisoners to district police departments (ROVD) for so-called preve…
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 internal transformations: how the mind finds refuge within four walls, how one’s perception of class…
“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 1,860 days—as he counts them from the day of his arrest. For decades his name was associated with p…
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” toward a penitentiary administration) in the public spotlight. By their account, the provision turns …
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 and included the entire YouTube channel vDud run by journalist Yury Dud. The ch…
«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. It was held for the first time in 1989. In 2026, 40 years will have passed since the day of the ac…
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, letters to political prisoners, and the lives of people who made “Viasna” what Belarus and …
She came home because she was homesick. A prison colony was waiting
She came home because she was homesick. A prison colony was waiting. Natallia Levaya is an artist from Brest. She was born on 22 June 1986. In 2009 she graduated from Brest State University in fine art and folk crafts, then went to draw in IT: first …
“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 alarming” practices inside Belarusian prisons and another statement strongly condemning the i…
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 temporary detention facility (IVS) of the Mozyr district police department (ROVD). The exact reasons a…
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 website; rights defender Roman Kislyak confirmed it for Pozirk. Aliaksandr had lived in Tbilisi&nb…
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 enforcement on two consecutive days. On 9 April 2026 the story was a mass raid with on-site detentions; on 10…
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 community, it collected photos and information on the movement of Russian military equipment across B…
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 about why her mother, Svetlana Gerasimovich, was detained in 2022. She did so on …
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 maintain the count of political prisoners in an open database; updates appear on spring96.org …
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 BelTA agency and TV channels STV and ONT. News of the block spread widely on the&nbs…
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 prisoners. These events unfolded against the backdrop of Belarusian leadership’s foreign-policy …
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 chapter, Belarus is again classed as Not Free: an overall score of 7 out of 100,&n…
Freedom Day 2026
On 25 March 2026, the 108th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) is marked — Freedom Day (Dzień Voli). On this day Belarusians around the world hold solidarity actions, …
“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 treated as participants in an “extremist formation” — the BYSOL solidarity fund. Acc…
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. Among them were 172 women. Over the previous month, the monitoring community added 5…
“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 Belarusian Woman. In the official framing, the document aims to shape a “national image of the woman…
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. According to Viasna’s tallies, December 2025 alone saw more than 80 d…
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 human rights defenders, foreign nationals, and people whose health in custody had al…
She Came Back for a “Pen Pal” and Got 4.5 Years in a Penal Colony: The Story of “97%” Chat Admin Tatsiana Kurylina
A Belarusian activist fled persecution to Poland, but after a six-month online romance she returned home, where she was put on trial. According to BYPOL, a group of former Belarusian security officers, the man she was talking to worked for the securi…
He believed the security services and came back from Poland. Aliaksandr Kulikou was given six years
They promised Mahiliou resident Aliaksandr Kulikou: come back, and the punishment will not involve imprisonment. He came back. Contact broke off at the border. The Leninski district court gave him three years in a colony. By March 2024 the outcome wa…
He Came Home for New Year’s and Got Five Years in a Penal Colony: The Story of Blogger Oleg Konovalov
Oleg Konovalov travelled from Kyiv to his home country of Belarus for the New Year holidays. He never made it back: he was detained on January 10, 2022, and eight months later he was sentenced to five years in a penal colony. Who he is Oleg Anatolyev…