News on the topic: detention conditions
19.12.2024 Harmful, dirty, meaningless: what kind of work do political prisoners do in Belarusian penal colonies
Viasna analyzed the work of political prisoners in Belarusian penal colonies and came to disappointing conclusions: meager salaries, danger to health, and the risks of persecution.
10.12.2024 Parasites in places of imprisonment is a gross violation of international standards of detention
Viasna has collected dozens of testimonies from former prisoners who have been bitten by parasites and explains why this is a gross violation of international standards for the detention of prisoners.
01.11.2024 "Four years have passed, but I can't forget that march to this day": the story of a Minsk driver
On October 18, 2020, a Sunday Partisan March took place in Minsk and other cities of Belarus, during which security forces detained more than 280 people.
28.10.2024 Former political prisoner Dzmitry Kaneuski: "I felt pressure against me in the penal colony on a daily basis"
For almost eight months before his trial, Kaneuski was held in the Homieĺ pre-trial detention center in appalling conditions: rundown walls, cold, dirt, and stench.
22.10.2024 "One girl fainted after an injection right in the hallway": what is happening at Akrescina?
Viasna spoke with a former prisoner who served her sentence at Akrescina a few weeks ago about her detention, the conditions in the infamous detention centre, the epidemic of rotavirus infection, and medical care.
21.10.2024 "They began to threaten me with a new criminal case": Aliaksei Ramanau speaks about the persecution after the penal colony
After his release, Aliaksei could not officially get a job anywhere, and then the detentions began.
16.10.2024 The former host of the show X Zone shares his thoughts on the prison and the decision to leave the country
Dzmitry Luksha, a former political prisoner, journalist, and host of the show X Zone, was released on pardon on July 3.
04.10.2024 Ruslan Akostka: "What is happening in the Belarusian penal colonies is torture"
Ruslan told Viasna about the conditions of detention in the Horki colony and a meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
02.10.2024 "It's hard to talk about, but people forget about it." Political prisoner in the Zeltser case on the anniversary of his detention
We publish a monologue by Artsiom Zadrutski on the anniversary of the Zeltser case.
01.10.2024 Philosopher, priest, cycling activist, editor: more than 40 older people remain behind bars
On the International Day of the Older Persons, we share some of their stories.
30.09.2024 "When the security forces found that I had epilepsy, they reduced the power of the taser." The story of a former prisoner
Two years of home confinement for leaving Internet comments and threats to be sent to a penal colony for condemning the Russian army.
20.09.2024 "I'm probably just going to die here": The situation of political prisoners from vulnerable groups
Human rights activists have identified at least 254 political prisoners who are at particular risk of mistreatment while incarcerated.
17.09.2024 "I was shot in the leg at the protests." The story of former political prisoner Dzmitry Panko-Niakrasau
He expressed his position in the penal colony and ended up in SHIZO for 50 days.
17.09.2024 Sister of Belarus protest leader Maryia Kalesnikava says she's starving in prison
Four years on from her arrest, Maryia Kalesnikava, 42, is being held incommunicado in a tiny, stinking prison cell where the toilet is a hole in the floor, her sister Tatsiana Khomich says.
12.09.2024 Home confinement replaced with penal colonies en masse: the reasons and who it affects
Viasna, together with lawyer Vika Rudziankova, explains the reasons for changing the punishment, which kinds of violations are punished, and what is considered malicious evasion from serving a sentence.
