The time for release is now

We, the under­signed, are con­cerned that, amid the cur­rent glob­al sit­u­a­tion, the plight of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers in Belarus may slip out of the pub­lic eye. Mean­while, the cat­a­stroph­ic sit­u­a­tion of approx­i­mate­ly 1,200 polit­i­cal pris­on­ers requires imme­di­ate inter­ven­tion. 

Freedom for all political prisoners in Belarus!

We applaud the com­mence­ment of the release process in 2024 and urge the Belaru­sian author­i­ties to con­tin­ue and expand it, guar­an­tee­ing the free­dom of all indi­vid­u­als impris­oned for polit­i­cal motives. We also call on demo­c­ra­t­ic politi­cians to use all avail­able tools and mech­a­nisms to facil­i­tate the release, includ­ing through diplo­mat­ic ini­tia­tives and human­i­tar­i­an nego­ti­a­tions.

The release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers is not only a mat­ter of jus­tice but also a demon­stra­tion of human­i­ty. For those released, it means the end of unspeak­able suf­fer­ing, a return to their loved ones, and, in some cas­es, even a sal­va­tion from the loom­ing death in cap­tiv­i­ty.

Releases are necessary

As of March 2025, more than 2,600 polit­i­cal pris­on­ers in Belarus have com­plet­ed their sen­tences and been released, while around 1,200 remain impris­oned for polit­i­cal rea­sons, some for as long as five years. At least 7 peo­ple have died in deten­tion due to inhu­mane con­di­tions. Over 200 pris­on­ers belong to vul­ner­a­ble groups, with dozens in crit­i­cal con­di­tion.

Reports from human rights orga­ni­za­tions and har­row­ing tes­ti­monies from hun­dreds of for­mer polit­i­cal pris­on­ers depict a grim pic­ture of extreme con­di­tions and delib­er­ate repres­sion: some pris­on­ers have had no con­tact with their fam­i­lies or lawyers for more than two years; med­ical care is often with­held even in emer­gen­cies; and in dozens of cas­es, sen­tences have been arbi­trar­i­ly pro­longed. Every addi­tion­al day in cap­tiv­i­ty presents an imme­di­ate threat to the life and health of the detainees.

Releases are possible

Since 2024, a num­ber of par­dons and pris­on­er exchanges have tak­en place—this process con­tin­ued into 2025. In total, over 300 polit­i­cal pris­on­ers have been freed before com­plet­ing their sen­tences. This proves that paths to the release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers exist!

We are con­vinced that the release of all those impris­oned for polit­i­cal rea­sons is pos­si­ble. Now is the time to con­sid­er and sys­tem­at­i­cal­ly imple­ment all avail­able means to facil­i­tate their release, includ­ing human­i­tar­i­an nego­ti­a­tions and diplo­mat­ic ini­tia­tives.

Releases need broad support

For all these years, many peo­ple have been work­ing to turn the release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers into a real­i­ty, includ­ing for­mer pris­on­ers, rel­a­tives of polit­i­cal detainees, human rights orga­ni­za­tions, activists, and experts. How­ev­er, for fur­ther progress, active sup­port from the inter­na­tion­al demo­c­ra­t­ic com­mu­ni­ty, media, and politi­cians is essen­tial.

In Belarus, there is pub­lic back­ing for the release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers: many cit­i­zens are con­vinced of their inno­cence and deem it nec­es­sary to free them, par­tic­u­lar­ly those in the most vul­ner­a­ble cir­cum­stances. Even among those who sup­port the cur­rent gov­ern­ment, the opin­ion that those con­vict­ed for polit­i­cal rea­sons can be released is wide­spread.

Our appeal to the Belarusian authorities and democratic governments

We believe that the release of all polit­i­cal pris­on­ers is not only achiev­able but essen­tial. This is not only a human­i­tar­i­an duty but also a vital step toward over­com­ing the deep­en­ing cri­sis in Belarus.

We call on:

• The Belaru­sian author­i­ties—to con­tin­ue and expand the release process, end dis­crim­i­na­to­ry mea­sures against polit­i­cal pris­on­ers in deten­tion, par­tic­u­lar­ly in response to efforts advo­cat­ing for their release, and ensure broad access for inter­na­tion­al observers to detainees. The release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers should not be con­di­tion­al upon ful­fill­ing humil­i­at­ing terms but should, on the con­trary, be accom­pa­nied by the restora­tion of their rights. The release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers should not be fol­lowed by con­tin­ued polit­i­cal­ly moti­vat­ed repres­sion.
• Demo­c­ra­t­ic gov­ern­ments—to make the release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers a pri­or­i­ty, engage with the Belaru­sian author­i­ties on human­i­tar­i­an issues relat­ed to their release, and take all avail­able diplo­mat­ic and human­i­tar­i­an mea­sures to achieve this goal.
• All par­ties—to explore pos­si­ble paths for ini­ti­at­ing a gen­uine dia­logue on the release of pris­on­ers.

Time is run­ning out. Every day spent in deten­tion wors­ens the phys­i­cal and psy­cho­log­i­cal health of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers. Sav­ing lives requires deci­sive action.

Our core val­ues

1. Peo­ple first
   Our main pri­or­i­ty is sav­ing lives. Polit­i­cal pris­on­ers must return home alive, not die in pris­ons. Their fam­i­lies, chil­dren, and friends are wait­ing for them. Every day of wait­ing brings pain and fear for their fate. Imme­di­ate actions for their release should out­weigh short-term polit­i­cal objec­tives.
2. Do no harm to polit­i­cal pris­on­ers
   In advo­ca­cy and com­mu­ni­ca­tion efforts, it is cru­cial to act respon­si­bly and avoid steps that could wors­en the sit­u­a­tion of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers.
3. No com­pro­mis­es with­out release
   Any steps toward the Belaru­sian author­i­ties must be tied to real and mea­sur­able human­i­tar­i­an changes—first and fore­most, the release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers and the eas­ing of repres­sive mea­sures. West­ern politi­cians should not give up their lever­age with­out mean­ing­ful human­i­tar­i­an steps in return.
4. Con­struc­tive dia­logue and long-term strat­e­gy
   Nego­ti­a­tions should be an inte­gral part of a long-term strat­e­gy aimed at achiev­ing tan­gi­ble results. Direct com­mu­ni­ca­tion between polit­i­cal and diplo­mat­ic struc­tures is essen­tial for build­ing a min­i­mum lev­el of trust, with­out which over­com­ing the unprece­dent­ed human­i­tar­i­an cri­sis in Belarus is not pos­si­ble.
5. Imme­di­ate, step-by-step actions to address the human­i­tar­i­an cri­sis
   The release process for polit­i­cal pris­on­ers has already start­ed, but it should not be lim­it­ed to iso­lat­ed instances of par­dons. It must become the focus of real nego­ti­a­tions. The rapid­ly shift­ing geopo­lit­i­cal land­scape clear­ly indi­cates the urgent need for deci­sive action. The time has come for sys­tem­at­ic steps that will result in the release of all polit­i­cal pris­on­ers in Belarus.

Sign the manifesto

By sign­ing this man­i­festo, you endorse con­crete actions for the release of polit­i­cal pris­on­ers in Belarus.

The time for release is now.

Sig­na­to­ries: 

Free­Be­larus­Pris­on­ers Asso­ci­a­tion of Rel­a­tives of Polit­i­cal Pris­on­ers and For­mer Polit­i­cal Pris­on­ers

May 21 Foun­da­tion

Vias­na

Legal Ini­tia­tive

Belaru­sian Helsin­ki Com­mit­tee

PEN Belarus

Human Con­stan­ta

Respect-Pro­tect-Ful­fill

Belaru­sian Asso­ci­a­tion of Jour­nal­ists

Lawtrend

Office for the Rights of Per­sons with Dis­abil­i­ties

politzek.me 

Physi­cians for Truth and Jus­tice

Task­force­Be­larus 

Free Belarus Cen­ter