Prison conditions of ailing party leader deteriorate, Viasna tells United Nations

January 17, Pozirk. The Viasna Human Rights Center has complained to the UN rapporteurs on Belarus and the right to physical and mental health about the deteriorating prison conditions of Ryhor Kastusioŭ, leader of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF).
The center asked the rapporteurs to inquire about Kastusioŭ’s health and to urge Belarusian authorities to provide him with adequate treatment.
The authorities have severely restricted access to information about him, it said, noting that prison conditions are dangerous for his life.
A cancer patient, Kastusioŭ has been in detention since April 2021.
In 2022, Judge Uładzimir Areška sentenced him to 10 years in prison for alleged conspiracy to seize power, a charge he denied. The interior ministry designated him as an extremist.
Last year, the Supreme Court dissolved the BPF, but it continues to operate and has international partners.
- EconomyEDB sticks to its slow growth forecast for Belarus this yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Society
- Society
- SocietyPolice disperse unauthorized car drifting event in Minsk regionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja greets Ukraine on Constitution DayThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLatvia reports more than 2,000 irregular entry attempts for two months in a rowThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics, SocietyNo plans to punish all those linked to EHU, prosecutor general saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Politics, Security
- PoliticsOpposition group welcomes PACE resolution against transnational repressionThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityLithuania reports spike in attempted irregular crossings via BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityBelarus confirms Russia’s announcement that Minsk has requested UN Security Council meeting over drone attackThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsNo statements expected after meeting between Putin and Łukašenka, Peskov saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SecurityInvestigative group reports surge in Belarusian fuel exports to Russian-held areas of UkraineThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsInterior ministry labels 17 people as “extremists”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyJournalist Paźniak, his daughter sentenced to prisonThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityUkraine, Russia swap prisoners in Belarus in eighth exchange this yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics



