On June 30, human rights defenders recognized 12 more people as political prisoners. The total number of people currently recognized as political prisoners in Belarus is 863.
The following names were added to the list of political prisoners:
Dzmitry Vialau, Andrei Siarheeu, Aleh Stefanovich, Lidziya Atamaniuk, Viktar Nikifarau, Mikalai Lanievich, Andrei Latyshevich, Varvara Latyshevich, Mikalai Pashkou, Ihar Sutyra, Tatsiana Korsakava and Dzmitry Korsakau.
Who these people are and why human rights defenders consider their cases politically motivated, you can find out here.
The list of all political prisoners in Belarus — here.
In total, according to human rights defenders' estimates, 863 people are currently recognized as political prisoners. Recently, their total number has not significantly increased and has even decreased, sometimes noticeably. However, this is not because repression in Belarus is decreasing — it's simply that alongside new cases of imprisonment on criminal charges, there is a process of releasing those convicted who have fully served their sentences. Some are also released on pardons, including through US mediation, although new prisoners are constantly being added in their place. Courts also sentence some to "restricted freedom at home" (literally "home chemistry"), after which the person leaves prison and is therefore no longer considered a prisoner.
It should also be noted that the statistics do not include all those imprisoned for political reasons; the actual number of Belarusian political prisoners is higher. Human rights defenders simply have no information about some.
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