UN Expert Welcomes Releases but Warns of Ongoing Repression in Belarus

Muižnieks stressed that the releases were overshadowed by what he described as forced expulsions to neighbouring countries.

 

A United Nations human rights expert has welcomed the recent release of several high-profile prisoners in Belarus but cautioned that the development should not be mistaken for a genuine improvement in the country’s human rights landscape.

Nils Muižnieks, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, said many of those released—including political figures, lawyers, journalists, trade unionists, activists, and human rights defenders—were originally convicted without fair trials and in retaliation for legitimate professional or civic activities.

Releases Coupled with Forced Exile

Muižnieks stressed that the releases were overshadowed by what he described as forced expulsions to neighbouring countries. While many were transported directly to Ukraine or Lithuania, those permitted to remain in Belarus have been subjected to strict surveillance, movement restrictions, and bans on returning to their professions.

He noted that the use of forced exile, combined with ongoing repression, does not constitute genuine pardons.“Returning to Belarus for them means facing new criminal charges and imprisonment. Those are not pardons, but forced exile,” he said.

Politically Motivated Detentions Still Ongoing

Despite several waves of releases over the past year—including a major release on 13 December 2025 that freed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, opposition leaders Viktar Babaryka and Maryia Kalesnikava, and others—politically motivated arrests and new criminal cases continue.

Human rights defenders estimate that over 1,100 political prisoners remain behind bars, placing Belarus among the countries with the highest number of political prisoners per capita globally.

Some released prisoners, particularly those who resisted exile, have faced immediate retaliation. Prominent politician Mikalai Statkevich, who refused to leave Belarus, was reportedly detained again. Others freed earlier saw fresh charges opened in absentia, further demonstrating persistent state repression.

Arbitrary Extensions of Sentences

Muižnieks also highlighted the misuse of Article 411 of the Criminal Code, a provision condemned by UN experts for enabling authorities to arbitrarily prolong sentences under the vague charge of “malicious disobedience to penitentiary authorities.” Several of the expelled individuals had either completed their sentences or were close to doing so when their imprisonment was extended.

Ongoing Concerns of Torture and Deaths in Custody

The Special Rapporteur reiterated long-standing concerns about serious ill-treatment and inhumane conditions in Belarusian detention facilities, particularly targeting those linked to the 2020 presidential election protests. Several political prisoners have died in custody or shortly after release under suspicious and uninvestigated circumstances.

No Signs of True Normalisation

Muižnieks warned that, despite state media framing the releases as “pardons,” Belarus has offered no indication of systemic change in its policies or practices.

“Until perpetrators of grave human rights violations are held accountable, all political prisoners are released, and all exiled Belarusians can safely return and work freely, we cannot speak of a normalisation of the situation,” he said.

The UN expert called for sustained international scrutiny and continued pressure to ensure accountability, protection, and eventual democratic freedoms for the Belarusian people.