Belarus: the campaign to harass and lure back exiled political opponents

The 21st of May marks the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus. We look at how the regime in Belarus has instrumentalised repression of independent voices.

Earlier in May this year, 42 Belarusian political prisoners were freed under a clemency act. While the official communication carefully avoids the term ‘political prisoner’ and prefers to portray people jailed for political reasons as ‘regular criminals’, this category of people is treated differently. More often, political prisoners are subjected to torture and inhumane treatment as described in human rights reports.

While sentences of ‘regular criminals’ are often shortened and releases are granted through amnesty, political prisoners are released by clemency acts, with Lukashenka’s press service announcing their releases separately. Belarus state outlets are largely silent on the topic, although they widely reported on a large-scale amnesty for ‘regular criminals’ related to the recent 80th anniversary of victory in World War II.

Do not be deceived by the numbers

Since 2020, at least 8,234 individuals have been subjected to criminal prosecution on political grounds. Since July 2024, Lukashenka’s regime has released around 300 people jailed for political reasons. Nevertheless, the number of political prisoners and their conditions have barely changed over the past year, because state repression has not decreased and new prisoners have been added to the list. In April 2025, human rights defenders recognised 41 individuals as new political prisoners and documented 1,206 political prisoners, including 159 women, as of 1 May 2025.

Clamping down on online activity

The fear of ‘wrongly’ liking something or posting criticism online is not irrational in today’s Belarus. As thousands of social media accounts are categorised as ’extremist’, interaction with their content can lead to a criminal conviction. Over the past year, multiple verdicts have handed down for social media comments critical of the regime, online donations or contributions to causes labelled ‘extremist’ or ‘terrorist’, or for sharing information about Belarus’s contribution to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Belarus state TV: limited options for ‘fugitives’

State outlets usually use the derogatory term ‘fugitives’ to refer to Belarusians who live abroad and avoid returning due to the risk of political persecution. As many thousands of Belarusians fearing persecution for political motives have relocated abroad, mostly to Poland and Lithuania, state propaganda has targeted them more frequently.

In January 2025, state TV reported on Belarusians living abroad protesting the tightly controlled sham presidential election in Belarus. It showed a security official announcing the start of criminal proceedings against 365 individuals while holding a stack of papers with their photos and personal information. State TV has also threatened Belarusians living abroad, while also inviting them to ‘repent their misdeeds’ and return to Belarus.

State TV regularly shows stories of people who have publicly repented and returned to Belarus through the special ‘state return commission’ established in 2023. One recent TV report of this kind, entitled ‘How do fugitives return home?’, was scripted to tell how a young woman came back to Belarus after having spent some time in Poland because of her past online comments criticising the regime’s policies. The protagonist’s mother, featured in the report, attributed her daughter’s forced emigration to bad influence of the Internet and appeared appreciative of the Belarus authorities. A similar TV report featured a young man who returned and described his earlier online behaviour with critical content as ‘wrong and immature’.

Screenshot of a meeting of the ‘Return Commission’, link

Repentance videos as PR

Given how repentance videos are made, it is hard to tell what is acting and what is the free will of the people returning. It is easy to imagine the pressure that can be placed on family still living in Belarus, which brings up the same dilemmas as in hostage situations.

These stories of returning people occupy an important position in the official information space, where the regime tries to promote an image of a strong but forgiving ruler. At the same time, the stories try to drive a wedge between groups of Belarusians abroad, splitting those who would consider or be pressured to return from others.

Handling the terminally ill

It is difficult to determine if an actual policy exists under which the regime tries to avoid having people die while in custody and seeks to have them released in due time.

Recently, human rights defenders and independent media informed the public that two young Belarusian women, imprisoned on political motives for online likes and comments, passed away. While their deaths may not be directly related to their imprisonment, years in harsh penal conditions and delays of medical treatment could have played an important role. 46-year-old Tamara Karavai, imprisoned in 2023 for two years for liking content on social media critical of Lukashenka, died of heart failure some six months after her release.

The 36-year-old Hanna Kandratsenka was one of many ordinary Belarusians sentenced to imprisonment in 2022 for critical online comments. While serving her term in a penal colony, Hanna had to perform hard labour with synthetic substances despite a skin condition. She was released after serving her term and died of cancer seven months later. Both women were certainly not at an advanced age at the time of death.

Belarusian state propaganda not only exploits political prisoners for ideological purposes but also increasingly targets political opponents living abroad. While some are promised mercy if they appeal to the ‘state return commission’, others face harassment and threats of retaliation.

At the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus take a moment to look at the pictures of the people. Real persons with real stories.

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Article and pictures first time published on the EUvsDisinfo web page. Prepared for publication by volunteers from the Res Publica - The Center for Civil Resistance.