Amnesty report highlights escalating human rights violations in Belarus

Amnesty International’s 2024 annual report, released on April 29, 2025, highlights a worsening human rights situation in Belarus, citing widespread repression, arbitrary detentions, and abuses of power. The report states that Belarusian authorities continued to suppress dissent through arrests, unfair trials, and prolonged detentions.

By the end of 2024, 1,265 individuals were jailed on politically motivated charges, and 45 journalists remained imprisoned. At least 329 civil society organizations faced dissolution, while freedom of expression was further restricted by expanding the list of so-called “extremist” materials.

According to Amnesty’s report, torture and ill-treatment in detention were reported as routine, with five political prisoners dying in custody. Prolonged isolation of high-profile detainees raised concerns about enforced disappearances. Religious figures not aligned with the state faced harassment, and clergy were detained under extremism-related accusations.

Amnesty also documented the forced transfer of over 2,200 Ukrainian children to Belarus for ideological indoctrination. Additionally, 116 refugee and migrant deaths were recorded at EU border areas over three years amid allegations of forced returns. The report noted Belarus’s deepening isolation from the UN human rights system and continued targeting of exiled opposition figures through trials in absentia.