The given number significantly exceeds the statistics from the previous two years. Independent analysts link this fact to the election campaign that has begun.
The Belarusian presidential ballot will be held on January 26 - and as reported, the local authorities are trying to prevent any manifestations of social protests in fear that mass anti-regime protests might erupt, like in 2020. Therefore, most arrests and searches of oppositionists' homes are preventive in nature. In such cases, courts sentence people to administrative arrest for up to 15 days, or to a fine.
The Belarusian regime's fear of the democratic opposition is so strong that Alexander Lukashenko - occupying the presidential office since 1994 - announced the army's participation in "protection" of the polling stations.
According to Viasna's statistics - as of December 30, 2024, there are at least 1,265 political prisoners in Belarus, recognized as such by most human rights organizations operating in the country. The actual number of political prisoners may be much higher, though.
In February 2023, a Polish-Belarusian journalist and Polish minority activist, Andrzej Poczobut, was sentenced to 8 years in a Belarusian labor camp.
Poland's Tomasz Bieroza is currently serving a 14-year sentence in a penal colony in Belarus for alleged "espionage activities."
Other Polish victims of fake political trials in Belarus include Jerzy Żywalewski, sentenced to four years in a penal colony, and Robert Tąpała, sentenced to three years.
Polish-Belarusian Roman Gałuza, arrested by the Belarusian secret services in 2022, remains imprisoned in Minsk's KGB detention center and awaits the result of the trial. He was accused of "high treason".
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Source: IAR, PAP