UN Experts Condemn Belarus Over Invalidated Passports

According to the UN experts, the eight former political prisoners were forcibly expelled to Lithuania or Ukraine on 13 December 2025 following their release from detention.

United Nations human rights experts have raised serious concerns after Belarus reportedly invalidated the passports of eight former political prisoners who were forcibly expelled from the country, warning that the move could leave them vulnerable to statelessness and a range of human rights violations. The experts say the action reflects an expanding pattern of transnational repression that continues even after individuals leave Belarus.

Passport cancellations raise human rights concerns

According to the UN experts, the eight former political prisoners were forcibly expelled to Lithuania or Ukraine on 13 December 2025 following their release from detention. After arriving abroad, they discovered that their Belarusian passports had been declared invalid, even though the documents were still officially valid when they left the country. The individuals reportedly received no formal notification, official decision, or explanation for the cancellation of their passports.

The experts warned that invalidating identity documents without due process can severely affect a person's ability to travel, maintain legal status, reunite with family members, access healthcare, secure employment, open bank accounts, and exercise other fundamental rights. They said the sequence of political imprisonment, forced expulsion, and passport invalidation suggests an escalating campaign of repression extending beyond Belarus's borders.

The experts also recalled that they had previously expressed similar concerns in a public statement issued in December 2025, as well as in earlier communications regarding Belarus's treatment of political prisoners and restrictions on consular services introduced under a 2023 presidential decree, which ended the issuance and renewal of identity documents through Belarusian embassies and consulates abroad.

Human rights defender faces continued prosecution

The experts also highlighted the case of Leanid Sudalenka, a former political prisoner, human rights defender, and former head of the Gomel branch of the Human Rights Centre Viasna. After being released from prison in 2023, Sudalenka left Belarus because of continued persecution. He was later convicted in absentia under Belarus's "special proceedings" system and is reportedly facing three additional criminal investigations linked to allegations of extremist activities connected to his human rights work and public statements.

The experts criticised Belarus's use of broadly defined anti-extremism laws, arguing that such legislation is being used to criminalise peaceful human rights activities and the exercise of internationally protected freedoms. They also reiterated earlier concerns that Belarus's "special proceedings" fail to meet international fair trial standards by limiting access to case materials, legal representation, proper notification, meaningful appeals, and effective legal remedies.

Calls for action and international commitments

The UN experts noted that Belarus recently accepted recommendations during its 2025 Universal Periodic Review to continue efforts to reduce statelessness and to move towards joining the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Conventions.

They said the continued prosecution of Leanid Sudalenka, his inclusion in international wanted-person databases, and his inability to safely return home to reunite with his family demonstrate the lasting impact of transnational repression against human rights defenders.

The experts have requested clarification from the Belarusian Government regarding the passport cancellations and other concerns raised in the report. They said they will continue monitoring developments while urging Belarus to end practices that undermine fundamental human rights and international legal protections.