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 documented episodes of politically motivated pressure. In parallel, the figures for the whole of 2025 reflect a different order of magnitude — at least 1,254 people who went through the courts on politically motivated criminal charges (this is a minimum estimate: some trials are closed to observers).

What counted as “repression” in December

December monitoring captured not only short administrative detentions but also raids, summons for questioning, and criminal and administrative cases tied to “extremism,” protest-related issues, and public criticism of the authorities. Against that backdrop, rights defenders stress: expanding lists of “extremist” resources and formations creates a basis for new charges.

REFORM.news, among others, reported on the same period, citing Viasna. By month’s end, hundreds of people whom the centre classifies as political prisoners remained in places of detention; December added new names to that statistic.

1,254 over the year: the conveyor belt in figures

The year-end compilation for 2025 (published by rights defenders towards the end of December) shows there was no mass shift to “light” sentences: a large share of people received restriction of liberty without a colony (the so-called “home restriction” [“home chemistry”]), while others got real prison terms in colonies. Article 342 of the Criminal Code (participation in unauthorised mass events) still tops the list by case count — hundreds of defendants; the statistics also feature charges related to “extremism,” insulting the president, “inciting hatred,” calls for sanctions, and others. For a detailed breakdown, see REFORM.news and RFI; the primary source cited is spring96.org.

Elections and “clearing” the public space

We do not tie every December detention to a single date on the electoral commission’s calendar: that would require separate court-and-reporting checks for each episode. But the general conclusion of rights defenders and international observers recurs year on year: before and during election campaigns, pressure intensifies on independent media, activists, and informal networks — from school chats to trade unions. In recent years, winter months have repeatedly coincided with votes and waves of inspections; in that light, December’s tally of 80+ cases reads not as “calm after the pardons” but as business as usual.

Pardons did not end the criticism

The same December was also marked by the mass release of 123 people under pardons. Viasna and other groups stressed: release often came with forced departure and no realistic prospect of lawful return, alongside unchanged repressive legislation.

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 alarmed relatives and rights groups.

What happened

The releases were officially framed as pardons. In public discussion the episode is most often described as part of a major diplomatic arrangement: talks also covered next steps in relations with the United States, including easing restrictions affecting the potash sector — a key pillar of Belarusian exports. That context is highlighted by, among others, the Associated Press, the BBC, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Some of those freed were moved out of the country: open sources mention transfers toward Ukraine and Lithuania, with individual figures going to other European states. Exact routes and each person’s legal status after release should be checked against fresh reporting and statements by human rights defenders.

Names that appear most often in the lists

Public lists include, among others:

• Ales Bialiatski — human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize laureate; groups such as CIVICUS flagged harsh detention conditions and health risks;
• Maryia Kalesnikava, Viktar Babaryka, Maksim Znak — figures tied to the 2020 political crisis;
• representatives of media and civil society, including people linked to TUT.BY and the Viasna Human Rights Centre.

Media coverage also notes nationals of several countries (including US allies and Ukraine), underscoring the international dimension of the list, not only its domestic side.

Health and the “humanitarian” framing

Official wording linked the decision to appeals by other leaders and humanitarian considerations (Novaya Gazeta and others). For years the rights community had demanded the release of the seriously ill and those denied adequate medical care in colonies. For many families, this wave of releases meant the legal act of pardon coincided with hope for proper diagnosis and treatment outside pre-trial jails — even at the cost of forced emigration or an uncertain status abroad.

What lies beyond a single day’s headlines

One mass release does not dismantle the system of political prosecution: open tallies still showed hundreds whom rights defenders count as political prisoners. In early interviews, several of those freed spoke of guilt toward those who remained behind bars — a moral tension that, for many, weighs heavier than political headlines.