UN Experts Urge Immediate Release of Viktoria Kulsha Amid Hunger Strike

Kulsha’s detention has been extended three times under Article 411, with a fourth investigation launched recently—an action that prompted her to begin her hunger strike.

A group of independent UN human rights experts has urgently appealed to Belarusian authorities for the immediate release of Viktoria Kulsha, a political prisoner held in Zarechye Correctional Colony No. 24, warning that her life hangs in the balance. The experts issued their statement following alarming reports that Kulsha has been on an indefinite hunger strike since the end of April 2025, protesting a fourth criminal case opened against her.

“Ms. Kulsha's condition has been life-threatening for some time now. According to recent reports, she has been on an indefinite hunger strike since the end of April. We are gravely concerned for her health and deeply fear for her life. Her release is urgently needed to ensure her safety,” the UN-appointed experts said in a press release.

A History of Protest and Repression

Viktoria Kulsha, a former administrator of the “Drivers 97%” Telegram channel and chat room, played a visible role in the widespread civil unrest that followed the disputed 2020 re-election of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenka. The messaging platform became a key space for coordinating peaceful protest activities and resisting state censorship.

Kulsha was apprehended in November 2020 and sentenced to two and a half years in prison under Article 342 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, which penalizes “gross violations of public order.” Despite completing her original sentence, she remains in detention, with Belarusian authorities repeatedly extending her imprisonment under Article 411, which criminalizes “malicious disobedience” to prison authorities.

Cycle of Detention and Hunger Strike

Kulsha’s detention has been extended three times under Article 411, with a fourth investigation launched recently—an action that prompted her to begin her hunger strike. Human rights advocates argue that the repeated use of this provision constitutes a clear pattern of arbitrary detention and psychological abuse.

The UN experts highlighted that this practice violates Article 14(7) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Belarus is a state party. The provision prohibits punishing someone more than once for the same offense once they have been finally convicted.

“The continuation of Viktoria Kulsha’s detention under Article 411 amounts to a misuse of legal mechanisms to perpetuate arbitrary punishment. It flies in the face of international human rights obligations,” the experts said.

Grave Conditions and Denied Pardons

Kulsha is reportedly enduring inhumane conditions, including extended periods of solitary confinement, lack of medical care, and physical abuse. Her current health crisis stems not only from her hunger strike but also from the cumulative effects of prolonged mistreatment.

Her plight is set against the broader backdrop of systematic abuse within Belarus’s correctional facilities, particularly against women linked to the 2020 political protests. According to UN reports, women in detention have faced beatings, verbal degradation, and denial of essential medical services, especially in facilities like the Zarechye Correctional Colony.

On May 9, 2025, the Belarusian government declared a sweeping amnesty aimed at releasing vulnerable prisoners. However, it conspicuously excluded individuals detained for protest-related activities, including Kulsha. Additionally, a series of presidential pardons over the past year similarly excluded her and many other political detainees.

International Call for Justice and Rehabilitation

The UN experts reiterated their broader appeal to the Belarusian government: release all women unjustly imprisoned for protest-related offenses, ensure justice, and provide reparations and rehabilitation services to support their recovery.

“We have received many reports about widespread cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of inmates in women’s correctional colonies in Belarus, particularly targeting women convicted in relation to the 2020 protests. We are calling on the Belarusian authorities to immediately free those women, including Viktoria Kulsha, and to provide them with remedies, reparations, and rehabilitation,” the experts emphasized.

A Litmus Test for Human Rights in Belarus

The case of Viktoria Kulsha is now emblematic of the broader state of human rights in Belarus. Her continued imprisonment, in the face of life-threatening conditions, casts a stark spotlight on the Lukashenka regime’s intolerance for dissent and its systematic undermining of international legal commitments.

As Kulsha’s health deteriorates, international pressure is mounting on Minsk to uphold its obligations under the ICCPR and cease using legal loopholes to perpetuate political repression. For Kulsha and others like her, freedom is no longer a political demand—it is a question of survival.