Human Rights Watch, World Report 2025

Country Report: Belarus (Part 2)

​Parliament Elections and Crackdown on Political Opposition 
On February 25, 2024, elections to the House of Representatives (lower chamber of parliament) and local councils of deputies (local representative bodies) took place in Belarus. “Human rights defenders for free elections” documented numerous violations of international standards on free and fair elections. 
 
In November, law enforcement carried out more than 100 raids in connection with elections to the Coordination Council, a non-government body seeking a democratic transition in Belarus and presenting itself as a collective representative body of the democratic part of Belarusian society. Following the raids, authorities sentenced in absentia 20 activists, journalists, and academics for purported affiliation with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. In May, when the election to the council took place, authorities also opened criminal cases against 257 people whose names were on the list of candidates. 
 
Politically Motivated Repression of Belarusians in Exile 
In 2024, authorities prosecuted dozens of Belarusian exiles in absentia on politically motivated grounds, in violation of fair trial guarantees. 
 
Authorities routinely checked the phones of Belarusians returning from abroad and increasingly detained people for following independent media labeled as “extremist,” having photos of the 2020 protests, or donating to funds deemed “extremist.” 
 
Crackdown on Individuals Opposing the War in Ukraine 
Belarus has allowed Russian forces to use the country’s territory since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Open source data suggests Belarusian authorities have facilitated the illegal forcible transfers of over 2,000 Ukrainian children from Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine to Belarus. 
 
In 2024, Belarusian authorities prosecuted individuals for expressing support for Ukraine, sharing photos of Russian troop movement with the media, or donating to the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment, a unit composed of Belarusians fighting for Ukraine. 
 
Death Penalty 
Belarus remains the only country in Europe to carry out the death penalty. 
 
In April, the UN Human Rights Committee found violations of the rights of Siamion Berazhny and Ihar Hershankou who were executed in 2018, including their right to a fair trial and right to life. 
 
In June, the Minsk regional court sentenced to death German citizen Rico Krieger, convicted under six articles of the Criminal Code, including “terrorism,” “extremism,” and “rendering transport or communication routes unusable.” On July 30, Lukashenka pardoned Krieger and two days later Krieger was released as a part of a major prisoner swap between Russia and the US and Germany. 
 
In October, the Minsk regional court sentenced Alexander Taratuta, convicted of murder, to death. 
 
Migrants 
As in recent years, migrants, including children, continued to be stuck on the Belarusian side of the border with Poland and faced serious abuses by Belarusian officials. Human rights organizations recorded deaths of migrants on both sides of the border. 
 
International Accountability 
In September, Lithuania referred the situation in Belarus to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), who then opened a preliminary examination of the situation. In September, human rights groups submitted a new report to the ICC prosecutor alleging Belarus’s involvement in displacement and indoctrination of Ukrainian children. 
 
In April, the UN Human Rights Council established a Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus to investigate and support accountability for international crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities. In the same resolution, the Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of its special rapporteur on Belarus. 
 
In response to the ongoing internal repression, the EU and other key international actors adopted new rounds of sanctions against Belarusian authorities. 
 
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2025. New York