On December 22, human rights defenders recognized another 23 people as political prisoners. The total number of people recognized as political prisoners in Belarus today is 1124.
The following names were added to the list of political prisoners:
Pavel Ivanou, Valery Zalivaka, Vital Petruchuk, Aliaksandr Karatkevich, Pavel Sharko, Siarhei Salash, Yuriy Khrameyev, Mikalai Ishchuk, Uladzislau Yakubouski, Uladzislau Makarevich, Siarhei Sikorski, Siarhei Strybulski, Aliaksandr Bigel, Uladzislau Hurski, Ihar Charpakou, Valery Paznyakevich, Raman Kantsavy, Valery Sakharuk, Uladzimir Isayeu, Vadim Sychuhou, Yauhen Sitko, Uladzimir Leasievich, Dzianis Piatkevich.
You can find out who these people are and why human rights defenders consider their cases politically motivated here and here.
The list of all political prisoners in Belarus is here.
In total, according to human rights defenders, 1124 people have been recognized as political prisoners at this moment. Recently, their total number has not significantly increased and sometimes even decreases. But this is not because repression in Belarus is diminishing – it is simply that in parallel with new cases of imprisonment in criminal cases, there is a process of releasing those convicted who have fully served their sentences. Some are also released by pardons, although new prisoners are continuously taken in their place. Also, courts sentence some to "home chemistry" (house arrest with correctional labor without confinement), after which the person leaves prison walls and is no longer considered a prisoner.
It should also be noted that the statistics do not include all those imprisoned for political reasons; the actual number of Belarusian political prisoners is higher. Human rights defenders simply know nothing about some of them.
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