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, 20 May 2026 – Whilst the Lukashenko regime is conducting new exercises on the use of tactical nuclear weapons in conjunction with Russia, hundreds of political prisoners continue to be held in Belarusian penal colonies under inhumane conditions. 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. On behalf of many young people in detention, the ISHR remembers 19-year-old Aliaksandra Pulinovich from Minsk. 

Aliaksandra Pulinovich, who had planned to study veterinary medicine after finishing school, was just 16 years old and still in her final year of school when she was arrested in January 2024. A year and a half later, she was sentenced to 10 years and 3 months’ imprisonment in a penal colony for alleged involvement in an anarchist group. Five other young people were arrested alongside her.

“The case of Aliaksandra Pulinovich clearly illustrates how young people in Belarus are being criminalised and intimidated with draconian punishments. This is how this regime, which is unpopular among young people, is securing its future,” said Valerio Krüger, spokesperson for the Executive Board.

Systematic intimidation of citizens critical of the regime 

Political prisoners in Belarus are deliberately isolated, subjected to pressure and broken down by inhumane prison conditions, former political prisoner Mikola Dziadok recently reported in an interview with the ISHR. The aim is not merely punishment, but the deliberate humiliation and intimidation of citizens critical of the regime. According to the Belarusian human rights centre “Viasna”, there are currently at least 848 political prisoners in detention, thousands of people have been tortured since 2020, and at least 8,000 criminal proceedings have been initiated against so-called extremists.

The ISHR calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all 848 Belarusian political prisoners. The systematic use of torture in Belarusian prisons, as well as the Lukashenko regime’s willingness to support Russia in its criminal war, must be thoroughly documented at international level, and those responsible must be held to account.