Belarus keeps seeing new people arrested on political grounds every day. A raid on the town of Dziarzhynsk has led to at least 45 people being detained. Repression has reached an unprecedented level of absurdity – a Belarusian woman was arrested because her deceased husband had liked a post on social media, an entrepreneur was detained for three thousand “extremist comments”, and a resident of Minsk was arrested for allegedly having connections with the intelligence services of Ukraine and Poland.
The Viasna Human Rights Center estimates there are currently 1486 political prisoners in Belarus, and thousands more have been detained for political reasons. And their numbers are growing all the time. Every day, new Belarusians find themselves in need of fundraisers to pay for lawyers and care packages, pay fines, rehabilitate after release, and help their families.
The Vaitsekhovich family from Borisov were arrested after an “attack” on the house of Lukashenka’s MP Aleh Haidukevich. The security forces forced them to confess to “intending to cause damage to property”. Unfortunately, it is clear how such “confessions” are obtained.
Inha Reidolf spent three months in custody before being sentenced to 2.5 years of restricted freedom. Mother to an 8-year-old son, she decided to escape from custody without belongings and practically without money.
Siarhei Satsuk is an investigative journalist and former editor of the Ezhednevnik portal. He has exposed corrupt practices in the Ministry of Health. In 2023, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison and must pay the regime more than 28,000 rubles [appx. 9,000 euros]. Some of his family's property has already been seized.
These are just a few stories of people you can support right now. But you can also help other political prisoners through the BYSOL and A Country to Live in foundations, or INeedHelpBY, Politzek.me, Politvyazynka, and Dissidentby initiatives. People facing political persecution need our help and solidarity.
