Joint statement by the human rights community of Belarus
March 13, 2026
We, the representatives of the Belarusian human rights community, once again emphasize that imprisonment and criminal responsibility for various protest activities are used by authorities to suppress social and political resistance, dissent, and anti-war demonstrations.
In 2021, criminal legislation was significantly tightened and supplemented with new types of crimes used by authorities exclusively for political repression.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee arbitrarily and out-of-court designate as extremist groups of citizens united by public or political interests who criticize the actions of the authorities and demand changes in the state and its policies, support an anti-war position and form an anti-war public opinion. A number of media outlets are also recognized as extremist groups. This, in turn, paves the way for the arbitrary criminal prosecution and imprisonment of their members and respondents, as well as for all forms of support for such actors, as a disproportionate measure restricting the right to association and freedom of expression.
Thus, human rights defenders learned about the detention and sentencing to imprisonment of Dźmitryj Novikaŭ, Natalla Kraŭčak, Raman Karpaŭ, Ivan Pietranievič, Dźmitryj Kondruś, Ihar Dziehciaronak, Uładzimir Mahronaŭ, Alaksiej Čarešnieŭ, Aleś Jaŭdachi, Źmicier Kołas, Vacłaŭ Bahdanovič in connection with their interaction with “extremist groups”.
We recognize the named individuals as political prisoners in accordance with paragraph 3.1 (a) of the Guidelines on the Definition of “Political Prisoner”, and demand that the Belarusian authorities:
- immediately release political prisoners Dźmitryj Novikaŭ, Natalla Kraŭčak, Raman Karpaŭ, Ivan Pietranievič, Dźmitryj Kondruś, Ihar Dziehciaronak, Uładzimir Mahronaŭ, Alaksiej Čarešnieŭ, Aleś Jaŭdachi, Źmicier Kołas, Vacłaŭ Bahdanovič;
- immediately release all political prisoners and stop political repression.
Human Rights Center Viasna;
PEN Belarus;
Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House;
Lawtrend;
Belarusian Association of Journalists;
Belarusian Helsinki Committee;
Legal Initiative.