April 8, Pozirk. The situation of political prisoners in Belarus and Russia remains extremely alarming, said Azadeh Rojhan, general rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
In an information note for the PACE’s spring session (April 7–11), she said that in the context of a wider crackdown on human rights defenders and political enemies, “both totalitarian regimes target also activists, journalists, lawyers and civil society organizations through arbitrary detentions, politically motivated charges, violence and legislative restrictions.”
“Belarus and Russia continue to instrumentalize criminal law, anti-extremism measures and counter-terrorism frameworks to suppress dissent and dismantle whatever is left from independent civil society,” she said.
“In Belarus, the authorities have escalated repression ahead of the 2025 ‘presidential elections,’ employing preventative arrests, torture and forced labor while expanding the designation of activists and media as ‘extremists’,” the paper reads. “The targeting of individuals supporting Ukraine further underscores the government’s efforts to criminalize political opposition and suppress solidarity with democratic movements.”
It notes that the fabricated charges against critics of Alaksandar Łukašenka’s regime include defamation, terrorism and incitement to hatred.
It also points out that Belarusian prisoners are often held incommunicado and experience torture and inhumane treatment, including death threats, severe beatings and “suffocation techniques.” “Political prisoners in Belarusian penal colonies are subjected to forced labor.”
In addition, inmates are often freezing without proper clothing or bedding and enduring prolonged detention in crowded and unhealthy conditions. Prisoners have been threatened, humiliated and intimidated, which contributes to their extreme psychological distress.
Quoting Amnesty International, Rojhan reported at least seven deaths in custody since 2020, attributed to detention conditions and inadequate medical care.
