Lukashenko frees 23 more Belarusian political prisoners
Nearly 1,300 prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, Viasna Human Rights Center reported.
Political Prisoners
Photos of jailed Belarusian opposition leader appear after almost 2 years of no news
Photos and a video of Viktar Babaryka were published by blogger Raman Pratasevich on Jan. 8 after the jailed Belarusian opposition leader was held incommunicado since February 2023.
I survived a Russian torture camp. So I had to see Assad's Sednaya prison
Editor's Note: Stanislav Aseyev is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, veteran, and a survivor of the Izolyatsia prison in Russia-occupied Donetsk, infamous for its torture of prisoners. He was the first Ukrainian journalist to see to the Sednaya prison and death camp in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime
'You'll die here' – Belarusian political prisoners recount experiences ahead of Lukashenko's reelection
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 30 years, is looking to reelect himself for the seventh time. In the run-up to the January 2025 presidential elections, Lukashenko has pardoned prisoners convicted of extremism, claiming that it was a "humane gesture" toward those who had "gone astray.
Russia 'prepared to consider' prisoner exchange with US, Russian official says
Russia will "definitely be prepared to consider" a prisoner exchange, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told NBC News, adding that a potential exchange could mark "a healthy step forward, especially at the beginning of the next (U.S.) administration."
Belarus Weekly: Ukrainian, Russian ombudsmen meet in Minsk to discuss POWs exchange
Two of Alexander Lukashenko’s “challengers” in upcoming 2025 presidential elections drop out before race even starts, pledge support for Belarusian dictator. Lukashenko pardons 31 political prisoners as pre-election police raids intensify. Lukashenko allows the family to visit Maria Kalesnikava in jail, ending over 600 days of holding the prominent
Russia imprisons former US consulate employee for ‘secret collaboration with foreign state’
Robert Shonov, a former employee of the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok, was detained in 2023 and accused of passing information on Russia’s war in Ukraine to the U.S. He was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison on Nov. 1.
Navalny's prison diaries to be published posthumously this week
The memoir, "Patriot," is compiled from the Russian opposition leader's prison diaries and was edited in part by his widow, Yulia Navalnaya. The book will be released in 22 languages, including Russian.
Trump criticizes Russia-US prisoner swap as 'win for Putin'
The historic Aug. 1 prisoner swap was a "win for Putin," Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed during an interview with Fox Business on Aug. 2.
Talks on historic prisoner swap between West, Russia took over 2 years, Reuters reports
The Kremlin was ready to start talks as early as February 2022 after the arrest of American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was jailed for nine years for possession of a vape with hashish oil, Reuters wrote, citing U.S. officials.
Freed U.S. prisoners arrive in Maryland, greeted by Biden, Harris
Freed U.S. prisoners arrived in D.C. during the late hours of Aug.1, where they were greeted by U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Killers, spies and smugglers – the Russians released in historic prisoner swap
Kremlin's assassin, Vadim Krasikov, has been imprisoned in Germany since 2021 after being given a life sentence for murdering Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
Gershkovich, Whelan, Kara-Murza released in major prisoner swap between Russia, West
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are being released by Russia in a multi-country prisoner exchange, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 1, citing undisclosed sources.
Russia transfers dissident Kara-Murza, other political prisoners amid speculation of US-Russia prisoner swap
Russian prison officials said on July 31 that Vladimir Kara-Murza, a jailed Russian journalist and opposition figure, was being moved from the penal colony where he was held to an uncertain destination.
Lukashenko releases 4 political prisoners, Belarusian opposition says
Some Belarusian political prisoners who were being held by Alexander Lukashenko's regime have been released, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announced on July 3.
Russia arbitrarily depriving political prisoners from contact with family, Amnesty International report finds
Russian authorities are being accused of systemically depriving Russian political prisoners and government critics of contact with families in order to ensure cooperation and "impose additional suffering on them and their families," an Amnesty International report released on June 26 charged.
Russian court sentences US soldier to nearly 4 years in penal colony, Russian media reports
A Russian court in Vladivostok has sentenced U.S. Staff Sergeant Gordon Black to three years and nine months in a Russian penal colony on charges of theft and uttering death threats, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on June 19.
NGO: Belarusian man accused of insulting Lukashenko dies in jail awaiting trial
According to the Viasna human rights group, Aliaksandr Kulinich is the sixth political prisoner to die behind bars in Belarus in the last two years.
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