Viasna: political imprisonments outnumbered pardons in Belarus in 2025

December 31, Pozirk. About 360 designated political prisoners have been pardoned this year, including 143 in December, the Viasna Human Rights Center said, noting that at least 509 people were imprisoned in 2025 on charges widely seen as politically motivated.
A total of 9,282 people have faced politically-motivated criminal prosecution in Belarus since 2020, with more than 8,000 convicted of criminal offences in such cases, the group said in its recent report.
As of December 31, human rights defenders identified at least 1,131 political prisoners, including 167 women and nearly 170 individuals listed as particularly vulnerable.
Since May 2020, rights groups have designated a total of 4,339 people as political prisoners.
Reprisals and crackdown on dissidents continue unabated since the 2020 postelection protests in Belarus.
Rights group reports more than 1,250 political convictions in 2025
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