To mark the Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus on 21 May, the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) is drawing attention to their plight and the systematic use of torture in Belarusian prisons. Foto: Canva Political Prisoners' Day in Belarus Belarus: Over 840 political prisoners – regime conducts nuclear war exercises ISHR calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners Minsk/Frankfurt am Main,
Mikola Dziadok „A free Belarus means a free Europe”“ Bonn, April 11, 2026. Presentation at the Annual General Meeting: Mikola Dziadok is a Belarusian blogger, journalist, and activist who has spent a total of 10 years of his life in prison. After serving his first prison sentence, he was arrested again during the 2020 protests and sentenced to another term of imprisonment. He was finally released in
54th Annual Conference of the ISHR Europe as a guarantor of human rights and peace On 11 and 12 April 2026, the 54th Annual Conference of the ISHR took place in Bonn. Under the guiding theme “Europe as a guarantor of human rights and peace”, members, partners and international guests came together to discuss current developments — in particular the situation of political prisoners, people persecuted
The ISHR’s social media accounts have been classified as ‘extremist material’ in Belarus The human rights organisation is not deterred by this designation and will continue its work on Belarus. In the Republic of Belarus, the long-standing dictator Lukashenko rules with brutal severity and has thousands of people arrested on arbitrary grounds. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have left the country since the rigged elections of 2020, whilst thousands more
Andrzej Poczobut The 51-year-old journalist Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus was arrested on 25 March 2021 and sentenced to eight years in prison on 8 February 2023. He is currently held in a high-security penal colony in Navapolatsk. Despite serious health issues, his access to medical care remains limited. Case facts: Date of birth: 16 April 1973 Arrested: 25 March 2021 Sentenced: 8 February 2023 Charges: “Calls for actions aimed at
On 7 August 2025, ISHR Secretary General Matthias Boehning and ISHR President Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Paul Schirrmacher met in Vilnius with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tikhanouskaya. They were accompanied by Martin Oliner (ISHR Strategic Advisor), Jed Oliner (ISHR Volunteer Lithuania), Jurgita Samoskiene (ISHR Country Lead Lithuania) and Kristina Trinkūnaitė (Head of Communications, Caritas Lithuania). Together, they discussed the current situation of the Belarusian diaspora in Europe and the challenges
Humanitarian aid for Belarusians was collected by German participants of the IGFM—Wittlich organisation On 15 June 2025, a fully loaded truck with 90 cubic metres of humanitarian aid arrived at the warehouse of the human rights organisation ‘Our House’ near Vilnius. The cargo - 15 tonnes of clothes, furniture, household items and school supplies - was collected by IGFM-Wittlich in Germany and is now being distributed among Belarusian and Ukrainian
In Warsaw on 26 January 2025, thousands of Belarusians protested against the "presidential elections" in their home country and carried a large white-red-white flag through the streets of the city. Leading the protest march, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, President-elect of Belarus. Photo: Еврорадио ISHR: Total control of the dictator Lukashenko Belarusian democracy movement must continue to be supported Minsk/Frankfurt-am-Main, 27 January 2025 - The so-called presidential elections in Belarus
Exactly four years after the uprising of the Belarusian democracy movement in the summer of 2020, the best-known exile organisation ‘Viasna’ presents its infographic ‘4 Years of Mass Repression’. Excerpts from it here at a glance Looking back: Spring 2020 - 3 presidential candidates eliminated Courageous and powerful men had indeed put themselves on the list of presidential candidates for the election in August 2020 in accordance with democratic
Statistics of Belarusian protest. 4 years of repression There are currently at least 1,385 political prisoners in prison. Some 65,000 people have been arrested in four years as part of political persecution. At least half a million Belarusians have fled Belarus 500,000 More than 74,000 cases of repression have been registered in four years: searches, short-term and long-term detentions, interrogations, etc. At least 6,971 people are known to be criminally