Human Rights

Prisoners of Conscience: Aliaksandr and Tatsiana Frantskevich

Belarusian political activist Aliaksandr Frantskevich now faces 17 years in a maximum-security penal colony, the second time he has been imprisoned for anarchist political views.

Initially arrested during peaceful protests in August 2020, Frantskevich was first charged with the "organization of riots". Then authorities expanded their accusations to include "establishing or leading a criminal organization." By November 2021, he faced charges under 13 different articles of the Belarusian Criminal Code.

His trial, conducted behind closed doors at the prosecution's request due to alleged "extremist" evidence, was criticized by defenders of human rights for violating his right to a fair trial.

In September 2022, the court sentenced him to 17 years' imprisonment and a fine of 22,400 Belarusian rubles (approximately 6,650 euros). Though he appealed, Belarus' Supreme Court in 2024 only reduced his sentence by three months.

Since his transfer to a high-security penal colony in March 2023, Frantskevich has endured harsh treatment. Immediately placed in isolation for 10 days, his solitary confinement has been repeatedly extended. Authorities have denied his lawyer visitation rights and in June 2024, they added another year to his sentence for alleged "malicious disobedience".

The persecution has extended to his family. His mother, Tatsiana, was recently detained and charged with "participating in an extremist formation", along with her sister, Natallia Labatsevich, who is herself the mother of a former political prisoner.

The prominent Belarusian human rights organization Viasna has condemned these trials and sentences as politically motivated, demanding the release of both Aliaksandr and Tatsiana Frantskevich. Viasna itself, founded by imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, was designated an "extremist formation" and outlawed by Belarussian authorities in 2023.

This is not Frantskevich's first encounter with political persecution. More than a decade ago, he served three years as a political prisoner. Since widespread protests in 2020, Belarus has intensified its crackdown on dissent by making any form of criticism or opposition against the country’s authoritarian President, Alexander Lukashenko, liable to criminal prosecution.

Prisoners of Conscience

Prisoners of Conscience from East and Southeast Europe

We feature select few prisoners of conscience out of the many in East and Southeast Europe. One political prisoner is one too many. 

Find out who the other political prisoners are #PrisonersofConscience  #FreeThemAll and in the special Focus on our website.