Belarus Review by iSANS — March 2, 2026 

According to Ukrainian monitoring channels, between 23 February and 1 March, 21 UAV flights were recorded in Belarusian airspace: 18 Russian and three Ukrainian. On-duty aviation assets of the AF RB were involved in interception efforts. Reports mentioned the destruction of certain UAVs. According to media reports, on the morning of 26 February, a Belarusian Armed Forces helicopter shot down at least one drone over Gomel.

The combat readiness inspection conducted by the Ministry of Defence is ongoing. Throughout the week, the MoD press service reported that reservists called up to units of the Western Operational Command were undergoing combat training. A notable feature is that training at instructional sites is being conducted by the reservists themselves—officers recalled from the reserve who have already refreshed their knowledge and skills.

On 23 February, Aliaksandr Lukashenka awarded state decorations and presented general’s epaulettes to officers of the country’s security and defence bloc. During the ceremony, he made several statements, as cited by his press service. Lukashenka stated that without science the country “has no future,” and without people in uniform who safeguard law and order “there will be nothing at all.” He said the security environment around Belarus remains tense and that requirements in the fields of security and defence will therefore be tightened. In this context, he announced that in the near future, all uniformed personnel will undergo inspections and “pass an exam on professional suitability.” He also stressed that in wartime, physical fitness and weapons proficiency are decisive. According to Lukashenka, officers play a key role: if a commander is well prepared, the unit as a whole is capable of fulfilling its mission. He added that, in his view, the system is “falling short” in the training of officers, something the ongoing combat readiness inspections are already revealing. He further stated that the authorities continue to address social issues affecting servicemen and their families, assuring that the housing issue would be fully resolved within the next couple of years.

On 23 February, Decree No. 67 “On discharge into the reserve and conscription for compulsory military service and reserve service” was signed. The document provides for the conscription in March–May 2026 of male Belarusian citizens who have reached the age of 18 by the date of call-up and are not entitled to deferment. The number of conscripts to be drafted is specified in an annex marked “For Official Use Only.” The decree also provides for the discharge into the reserve of servicemen who have completed their statutory terms of compulsory service. Such decrees are signed twice a year and serve as the legal basis for the conscription campaign. According to the MoD, around 20,000 people are drafted annually for compulsory service.

On 24 February, a seminar entitled “Specifics of Treating Patients with Gunshot Wounds” was held at the 432nd Main Military Clinical Medical Centre, the MoD reported. Doctors from civilian healthcare institutions were briefed on possible errors in surgical treatment and multi-stage care of gunshot injuries, specifics of treating upper and lower limb wounds, and diagnostic procedures for patients with gunshot trauma. According to a representative of the 432nd Medical Centre, similar seminars were first conducted in 2022 at regional clinical hospitals. These covered the work of the Gunshot Trauma Centre (operating since 2016 at the 432nd Centre), procedures in cases of mass casualty admissions, and the specifics of mine-blast injuries.

On 25 February, as part of the combat readiness inspection conducted on the instruction of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the 2nd Engineer Brigade (military unit 31802) underwent inspection, according to BelTA. State Secretary of the Security Council Aliaksandar Valfovich said that during the inspection, 15 pieces of equipment – both wheeled and tracked – were removed from long-term storage in various battalions of the brigade for a subsequent 20-kilometre march. Similar inspection scenarios were conducted in a number of other AF RB units. Valfovich noted that a preliminary inspection showed the equipment to be maintained in proper condition. “The minor shortcomings we observed, which do not affect combat readiness, will, I am confident, be eliminated,” he said. Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasiliy Herasimau also took part in the inspection. According to him, certain issues related to storage and repair of equipment were identified. In total, eight AF RB units have been inspected since the launch of the combat readiness check on 16 January.

On 25 February, a roundtable entitled “The Relevance of Employing Ground Robotic Systems Based on the Experience of Modern Armed Conflicts” was held at the Research Institute of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Defence reported. The event was chaired by Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveika. Participants included senior representatives of the AF RB command and research staff of the institute. No further details were disclosed.

On 26 February, the outlet Radyyo Svaboda reported that since early November 2025, air defence units have been deployed near the “Krichev” airfield, where the positional area of the Oreshnik missile system is located. The conclusion was based on satellite imagery. A 17 February image reportedly shows at least six equipped positions with military hardware within a five-kilometre radius of the airfield. Some of the vehicles reportedly resemble Tor or Pantsir air defence systems, as well as electronic warfare systems such as Krasukha or Moskva-1. However, the exact type of equipment cannot be confirmed due to the quality of the satellite imagery.

It is known that in late October 2025, a battery of Tor-M2K systems from the 1146th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (military unit 97106), along with a mobile low-altitude radar group from the 49th Radio-Technical Brigade (military unit 39872), assumed air defence combat duty in the area of the former Krichev airfield. Their task is to protect the positional area of the Oreshnik missile system. Indirect information suggests that AF RB units continue to perform these duties.

On 27 February, Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov stated that Ukraine had managed to destroy a modern communications system that helped Russian drones enter northern Ukraine from Belarusian territory. “We managed to eliminate the mesh network used by the ‘Shaheds’ in the north, which had a positive impact on the defence capability of Kyiv and central Ukraine,” the official was quoted as saying by Ukrainska Pravda. Fedorov did not specify how the network had been destroyed. Defence Minister’s adviser Serhii Beskrestnov explained to journalists that a mesh network functions in such a way that all its participants act as relays for one another. He noted that a network in which many UAVs operate simultaneously must be connected to a control system and to Russian operators. According to him, such control points exist in Russia and previously existed in Belarus. Externally, these could appear as “a standard mobile operator tower” or another structure 70–80 metres high equipped with powerful antennas directed towards Ukraine.

On 26–27 February 2026, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya paid a working visit to Strasbourg, focusing on cooperation with the Council of Europe and practical issues affecting Belarusians in exile. On 26 February, she met with Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset (with the participation of her advisers and the Speaker of the Coordination Council, Artsiom Bruhan). The discussions covered the work of the Council of Europe Contact Group on Cooperation with Belarusian Democratic Forces and Civil Society, its 2026–2027 Action Plan, and the planned launch in the coming months of a Council of Europe Information Office for Belarusians in Vilnius, as well as the participation of a Coordination Council delegation in PACE. Support programmes were also addressed, including internships for Belarusians, continued training for lawyers and attorneys, implementation of the “Luxembourg Solutions” to improve the situation of Belarusians abroad, and preparation of a roadmap for Belarus’s integration into the Council of Europe. Berset was awarded the Cross of Good Neighbourliness. The same day, Tsikhanouskaya addressed a meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, thanked member states for suspending cooperation with the regime and for supporting democratic forces, and linked European security to continued support for Ukraine. On 27 February, at a briefing for ambassadors of member states, she separately raised the issue of legal status for Belarusians in the EU (visas, documentation, protection), as well as sanctions, the release of political prisoners, and countering transnational repression.

On February 25–26, Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s visit to Moscow included closed one-on-one talks with Vladimir Putin (officially lasting around one hour), as well as a session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State. The public part of the programme had a distinctly technocratic tone. No direct statements were made on Ukraine or the United States; Lukashenka limited himself to familiar rhetoric about the need to respond jointly to emerging challenges. He spoke of the “practical implementation” of the Security Guarantees Treaty, linking it to the deployment of the Oreshnik missile system. The economic agenda was framed through the concept of technological sovereignty and protection of the common market. A package of decisions was signed, including the launch of cross-border train services (Vitsebsk–Smolensk, Orsha–Smolensk), the establishment of a Committee on Standardisation and Quality, a directive on mutual support in international legal matters, and preparations of integration documents for 2027–2029. No press conference was held following the five-hour programme at the Kremlin.

On February 28, US President Donald Trump praised Aliaksandr Lukashenka, stating that relations between the two countries are good. “We have very good relations with Belarus, and I very much like their leader,” Trump told journalists from Lithuania’s LRT channel. He emphasised that Washington and Minsk maintain good relations and that the respect is mutual. “We have very good relations, and I have great respect for the President of Belarus, Aliaksandr Lukashenka,” Trump said.

On February 28, Minsk’s official reaction to the bombing of Iran was notably more restrained than Moscow’s. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry adopted neutral language, expressing concern and calling on the “parties involved” to reduce confrontation and return to diplomacy. Belarus did not explicitly name either the United States or Israel, nor did it invoke the UN or the IAEA in accusatory terms. By contrast, Russia’s Foreign Ministry centred its position on a strong political and legal condemnation of the US and Israel. Lukashenka himself did not publicly comment during the first 24 hours after the attacks, while Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhenkov was on visits to Togo and Ghana.

Against this backdrop, regime propaganda shifted to overtly harsh anti-American and anti-Western messaging, at times reaching a grotesque tone. For example, propagandist Hryhory Azaronak was heard chanting “Allahu Akbar” on air, while communist ideologue Aliaksei Dzermant openly lamented Ayatollah Khamenei. Pro-regime activists staged a symbolic action near the Iranian embassy, laying flowers in mourning. At the same time, propagandists paid little visible attention to Trump’s earlier praise of Lukashenka. Taken together, this suggests that the more hardline segment of the regime’s propaganda apparatus is attempting to narrow Minsk’s room for manoeuvre by exerting pressure on the broader political class.

Belarus’s economy is beginning to move into decline, although social indicators still project outward stability. According to Belarusian Statistical Agency, GDP in January 2026 was 1.2% lower than a year earlier. The EBRD simultaneously downgraded its 2026 growth forecast for Belarus from 1.7% to 1.3%. Labour market caution is increasing: in January, hiring rose by only 1.6%, while layoffs increased by 4%, meaning enterprises are reducing staff more often than expanding it. At the same time, official unemployment under the international methodology fell to 2.5% in 2025, sustaining a picture of “statistical normality.” However, structural imbalances persist: wages continue to grow significantly faster than productivity. In 2025, real wages increased by around 9%, while labour productivity rose by approximately 1%. Household incomes are being maintained, but the underlying economic base is expanding much more slowly, increasing the model’s vulnerability in the event of further slowdown.

On February 27, the European Union has extended its sanctions against Belarus. The relevant Council regulation of 26 February was published in the Official Journal of the EU, extending the measures until 28 February 2027. The EU also amended the listing justifications for 54 individuals and seven entities.

On the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly adopted the Ukraine-initiated resolution “Support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” The resolution was supported by 107 countries; 51 abstained and 12 voted against. Belarus was among those voting against, alongside Russia, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Niger, Mali and Sudan. The United States abstained.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resolution mentioned Belarus. The members of the European Parliament recalled that Belarus supplies Russia with ammunition and weapons, and has allowed Russia to use its territory to attack Ukraine. It was also mentioned that between 20,000 and 35,000 Ukrainian children were forcibly deported from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia and Belarus. The European Parliament called for holding Russia and the Belarusian regime accountable for the war, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Against this backdrop, on 27 February, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine should pursue a more active policy towards Belarus and that Ukraine’s MFA is considering a candidate to be appointed as a Special Representative for Belarus. The remarks were made during Zelensky’s meeting with former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.

The Belarus–Lithuania border crisis remains in a positional phase. Pressure via contraband continues, while the political-diplomatic track has not produced substantive negotiations.

Attempts at “airborne” contraband persist. For instance, on the night of 25 February, Lithuanian border guards intercepted a drone carrying 500 packs of cigarettes that had arrived from Belarus.

A key signal from Minsk was a 23 February statement by Deputy Foreign Minister Ihar Sakreta during meetings in Geneva, where he criticised what he called the European Commission’s “unlawful attempts to interfere” in the issue of Lithuanian trucks stuck in Belarus, emphasising the bilateral nature of the Belarus–Lithuania dispute. In effect, Minsk rejected resolving the issue via an EU supranational institution.

In parallel, regional-level coordination of Baltic states is increasing. On 25 February, the prime ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland signed a declaration to strengthen coordination on the external borders and counter hybrid threats from Russia/Belarus (information-sharing channels, early warning, and joint measures).

In Lithuania’s domestic politics, pressure on the presence of Belarusians in the country continues. Conservatives again proposed restricting the purchase of real estate by Belarusian citizens holding temporary residence permits. The initiative was criticised by Tsikhanouskaya’s diplomatic adviser Dzianis Kuchynski.

On the Poland–Belarus border, following an apparent attempt to test the hybrid pressure channel on 20–23 February, the situation returned to minimal levels, according to the Polish Border Guard Service. Poland is also facing cigarette smuggling by air: on 1 March, two Polish citizens were detained for transporting contraband worth more than PLN 30,000 (around EUR 7,000).

Mikalai Statkevich, a former political prisoner, veteran opposition politician and candidate in the 2010 presidential elections, is at home recovering from stroke which he suffered in the colony, with his wife Maryna Adamovich by his side. Nothing was known about Statkevich since 11 September 2025, when he refused to leave for Lithuania in a group of 52 political prisoners released following negotiations between Belarus and the United States and deported from the territory of Belarus. Statkevich returned home on the evening of 19 February “without an epicrisis or any extract from medical documents,” Adamovich said. This creates great problems for the prompt provision of medical care Statkevich needs. “We have no understanding of his legal status or the possibility to leave for rehabilitation, no medical documents, or even a passport,” she underlined.

Gutenberg Publisher was recognised as an “extremist formation”. The KGB decision in this regard was dated 16 February 2026. On 24 February, its details were added to the relevant list maintained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Telegram and the publisher’s website were included in the list of “extremist materials”. “The European Belarusian publishing house Gutenberg Publisher has its office in Krakow. Belarusians who were forced to leave their homeland work here. We maintain personal contacts with Belarusians throughout the country and involve them in efforts to financially support and maintain a unified intellectual space,” Gutenberg Publisher ‘s website says.

On 23 February 2026, the Bogdanovich family of publishers, spouses Alena and Vaclau and their daughters Antanina and Victoryja, were detained in Minsk. The detention is probably related to the activities of the Technalohija publishing house. According to preliminary information, Alena and Antanina were released. The fate of Vaclau and Victoryja is unknown. On 21 February 2026, the Technalohija publishing house announced the termination of its activities “for technical reasons”. The cases of Gutenberg Publisher and the Technalohija publishing house are part of the broad wave of persecution of various Beelarusian publishers developing in the last two weeks.

On 23 February 2026, the website and social networks of Press Club Belarus and PEN Belarus, along with more than 25 other social media accounts of various civic and media projects, were recognised as “extremist materials”.

Political prisoner Volha Chukarava lost her eyesight behind bars. Maryna Zolatava, a former political prisoner, reported about this on social networks. Chukarava is 50 years old; she worked as an accountant in the aviation sector. She was sentenced to four years of imprisonment on charges of forming or participating in an extremist formation and insulting a government official. Chukarava was detained in the autumn of 2024. She suffered a stroke in jail and completely lost her eyesight. “Volha tried not to complain. Even when her blood  pressure was 210. She only asked for guidance so that it would be easier to move by touch. She learned how to do it,” Zolatava, writes. Chukarava has a teenage daughter, her son is in the army, and her mother has first-group disability and is bedridden. In addition, Chukarava was added to the list of “terrorists”, so she is not allowed to receive money transfers.

Aleh Dabrydneu, a former political prisoner, was first criminally charged at the age of 15 for writing “3% – Lukashenka leave” on garbage bins and tearing down official red and green flags of Belarus. He was sentenced to six months of supervised restriction of freedom. At 16, he became involved in a second political criminal case, this time for participation in an “extremist formation,” and was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment in an enhanced regime. After his release he left the country. He was advised to leave while still in prison; a KGB officer warned him that there would be no life for him in Belarus. Dabrydneu recalled that he was beaten during his detention, and during interrogations in an attempt to extract passwords and names of other young activists from him. He had no legal representative or teacher, as required by the criminal procedure legislation, beside him. At the age of 17, he was sent to an educational colony for minors in Babruisk. People were regularly beaten up there. “Beatings were allowed for bad grades, for anything the administration did not like. If you don’t run three laps in the morning along with everyone else, they can force you to squat with weights or torture you. As a political prisoner, I was beaten with a wooden baseboard, in other units they could have beaten you with a metal pipe. They beat me three times a day during the last month,” Dabrydneu said.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 403 people have been convicted in Belarus for supporting Ukraine in one form or another, “Viasna” Human Rights Centre reported. Belarusians and foreign citizens were charged with high treason, espionage, and espionage-related activities. They were also persecuted for their desire to fight on the side of Ukraine, for providing financial support for the Kalinouski Regiment of Belarusian volunteers and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as for sabotage on the railway. Throughout the year, there has also been persecution of Belarusians who sent information about the movement of Russian troops to the Belarusian Hajun project. At least 183 people have become defendants in this case. According to “Viasna”, more than 200 people currently remain in custody for supporting Ukraine. Human rights defenders have information about at least five citizens of Ukraine who are in custody on politically motivated charges. Human rights activists emphasised that they refer to the data known to them, but the number of actual cases of persecution may be significantly higher.

People convicted under administrative offences are already being held in the unfinished new Offender Isolation Centre,“Viasna” reported. Earlier, the media reported that the building of the detention centre on Akrestsina street would soon close for large-scale reconstruction. Meanwhile, a new Offender Isolation Centre is being built in Stsyapyanka. It was designed for 230 people. The construction plans indicate that the completion of work is planned only in early 2027.

The circumstances of the death of political prisoner Vadzim Khrasko have become known. Mikhail Stolyarchuk, a former political prisoner from Ukraine, who had been released from a Belarusian colony in November 2025, reported them. “Vadzim Khrasko already had health problems [before his conviction]. In January 2024, he had a fever and went to the medical unit, but they did not help him. Then he got so sick that he fell down in the barrack. The inmates got scared and called the supervisor and the medical officer. He was carried to the medical unit, where he died immediately. An ambulance arrived and took him away. As the supervisors later said, ‘he burned down in three days’ — he died of pneumonia, as the autopsy showed. If they had carried out a lung X-ray at the medical unit and helped him somehow, this would not have happened,” Stolyarchuk said. In August 2023, Khrasko was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for financing “extremist” activities. He was sent to serve his sentence in the Vitsebsk colony despite a number of illnesses. Khrasko died on the night of 8-9 January, 2024. The official cause of death was pneumonia.

Iryna Levina, a 38-year-old cancer patient from Mozyr, was sentenced to four years of restriction of freedom in the Belarusian Hajun case. According to human rights defenders, Levina was also fined 500 basic units (approximately 6,260 Euro). She was convicted on charges of facilitating “extremist” activities. Levina is a mother of four children, she has a complex form of lymphoma. Security officers detained her on 25 June, her birthday, at the exit of a clinic, in front of other patients and doctors. She was scheduled for another chemotherapy procedure on 30 June.

On 25 February, Belarusian human rights defenders published a statement recognising eight more people as political prisoners. Six of them were convicted on various charges that are used in Belarus for political persecution, including inciting social hatred, insulting Lukashenka, creating an extremist formation, participating in group actions that grossly violate public order, etc. Two were convicted of high treason. Human rights activists demand the release of these people, as well as all political prisoners, and an end to repression in the country.

Authorities began to offer those convicted under political charges and sentenced to restriction of freedom without referral to an institution the option to replace their punishment with a more lenient one – correctional labour. At least five such cases are known. These cases feature both residents of Minsk and smaller regional centres. All of these people have been serving their sentences for a long time; some have about a year left before the end of their sentence, while others have only several months left. Correctional labor assumes that a person continues to work in their job, but the state withholds between 10 and 25% of their salary. At the same time, some of the restrictions are lifted: there is no requirement to follow a strict schedule of staying at home and regular police checks are discontinued. Restrictions on alcohol consumption are also relaxed. The decision to commute the punishment is made by the court. If the relevant application is filed by the police, it is usually approved. For those convicted under non-political offences, this practice is used regularly, but in relation to political cases, such a mechanism has not previously been used.

On 27 February, the trial of political prisoner Pavel Dabravolski began in the Minsk City Court. He is accused of high treason. Dabravolski left Belarus in 2021, but returned to Minsk in October 2024. In January 2025, he was detained. Last autumn, he was transferred from the KGB pre-trial detention centre to SIZO No. 1 in Kalyadzichi. Dabravolski was a journalist with Naviny.by. He also collaborated with various independent media. During the 2020 protests, he was detained and brought to administrative responsibility in connection with his professional activities.

On 26 February, the Brest Regional Court announced the verdict against Uladzimir Yanukevich and Andrey Pakalenka, media managers from Baranovichi. The former heads of the Baranovichi news portal BAR24, and earlier of the independent newspaper Intex-Press, were found guilty of “high treason”. Their trial began on 3 February 2026 and was held behind closed doors. Because of this, the nature of the charges is still unknown. Yanukevich was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and a fine of 3,000 basic units (135,000 rubles or approximately 40,000 Euro). Pakalenka was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment plus a fine of 1,000 basic units (45,000 rubles or approximately 13,000 Euro). Yanukevich was the Director and Editor-in-chief of Intex-Press, an independent media in Baranavichi, and Pakalenka worked there as Deputy Director for Development. After the authorities liquidated this media, they founded the news project BAR24. In December 2024, BAR24 employees were detained, their offices and apartments were searched, and equipment was seized. Criminal cases have been opened against six of the BAR24 employees on charges of facilitating extremist activities. Four of them – Natallia Syamenavich, Mikita Pyatrouski, Ruslan Ravyaka and Lyudmila Zelyankova – were sentenced to restriction of freedom and added to the list of “extremists” in November 2025.

On 27 February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs added 33 more people to the “List of citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens or stateless persons involved in extremist activities.” There are now 6,353 names on the list.

On 28 February, the Ministry of Information of Belarus updated its list of “extremist materials”. It now includes the website and social networks of the human rights organisation Human Constanta. The decision to recognise their information products as extremist was made on 24 February by the Chashniki district court. Human Constanta’s Facebook, Instagram, Vkontakte, X, and YouTube accounts are included in the list. Pages of other initiatives on TikTok, Instagram, and Telegram were also included in the list. It should be noted that the TikTok account “Belarus | Without filters” was included in the list for the fourth time. On 13 February, the Minsk district court recognised the initiative as extremist; on 18 February, the Kalinkovichi district court recognised it as extremist, spelling its name slightly differently; on 20 February, the Yelsk district court recognised it as extremist as an “open group”; and finally, on 25 February, the Shklou district court recognised it as extremist again.

The list of political prisoners maintained by “Viasna” Human Rights Centre includes 147 elderly convicts. They constantly have to work without payment, they are rarely released early, and their health status is not taken into account when sentencing, commented former elderly political prisoners. Former political prisoner Halina Dzerbysh, who was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in the “Autukhovich case” and pardoned as a result of negotiations with the United States, is confident that it is beneficial for the colony administration to keep pensioners, since more than half of their pensions are taken from them. Elderly convicts who have not earned a work pension are not paid social benefits, which are normally paid to the elderly. At the same time, there is unpaid work every day for them, they clean toilets and corridors. Neither age nor their state of health affects the attitude of the colony administration towards elderly prisoners. For example, Vaclau Areshka, a 70-year-old trade union leader who has practically lost his eyesight, is still kept in the colony.

On 23 February, Human Rights Watch, along with 17 other Belarusian and international human rights organisations, published an open letter to delegations of states – members and observers of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), urging them to support the renewal and strengthening of the mandates for the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus and the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus. Writing ahead of the HRC’s 61st session, these groups argued that renewal of both mandates is critical to address the unrelenting human rights crisis in the country. Since last year’s report, civil society organisations continue to report grave, systematic and widespread human rights violations committed by the Belarusian authorities. The letter recounted how political prosecutions continue unabated, with over 1,149 individuals currently detained on political grounds. Many allege torture, ill-treatment, and prolonged incommunicado detention. While hundreds of political prisoners were released in 2025 through presidential pardons, many were expelled abroad, and both former detainees and exiled Belarusians continue to face harassment and intimidation.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women registered a complaint from ex-political prisoner Larysa Shchyryakova, who was released on a “pardon” in September 2025 –  a few months before the end of her term, and was expelled from Belarus. She received a humanitarian visa for one year in Lithuania. Belarusian authorities ignore official inquiries from internaional bodies about Shchyryakova’s legal status and her right to return to her homeland. During her imprisonment, Shchyryakova’s mother died. Her elderly father and son live in Belarus.

On 23 February, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held targeted hearings of its foreign policy group within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Belarusian Democratic Forces and the EESC. The topic of the hearing was “Belarus — from repression to rights: freedom of trade unions, Article 33 of the ILO and the legal status in Europe for former Belarusian political prisoners”. The debate was attended by Séamus Boland, Chairman of the EESC, Lelio Corrêa, Special Envoy of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for Belarus, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, President of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, Michał Kobosko, Deputy Head of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Belarus, representatives of the European External Action Service and the Directorate General for Migration of the European Commission, EESC delegates and representatives of the Belarusian public. The participants of the hearings noted that the total disregard of labor rights by the Belarusian regime, including the right to freedom of association, cannot go unpunished. The participants expressed support for the work of the ILO Special Envoy, who seeks to protect workers’ rights through constructive dialogue with the Belarusian de-facto authorities. At the same time, it was emphasised that a failure to comply with the requirements of the ILO control mechanisms creates grounds for strengthening restrictive measures against the Lukashenka regime by democratic countries and international organisations.

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