“Babariko is alive!”
These were the words of Viktor Babariko’s team after viewing footage of the Belarusian opposition politician jailed for the first time in more than 630 days.
Babariko, who was arrested in 2020 while attempting to run for president against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, was sentenced to prison as an additional punishment.
His political team has described the period of no communication or information about him as “torture.”
A short video just released shows Babariko sending his greetings to his family. There are also three photos, including one of him writing a letter that appears to be addressed to a relative. It is not clear when the photo was taken.
The former bank employee, wearing black prison overalls, has lost considerable weight since being detained.
Other prominent political prisoners are also held incommunicado in Belarus, including Maria Kolesnikova, who was part of Babariko’s 2020 presidential election campaign team until her arrest.
She then became one of the leaders of the massive protests that erupted after the election, which the EU claimed were staged to keep Lukashenko in office.
Similar images of Kolesnikova, who was in prison, suddenly surfaced in November last year when her father was allowed to see her for the first time in more than a year and a half. There has been no news of her since then.
In both cases, the photos and videos were published by Roman Protasevich, co-founder of the Telegram channel Nexta, which was widely followed during the 2020 mass protests.
In 2021, he was arrested after a Ryanair plane was diverted mid-air to Belarus and forced to land due to a fake bomb threat.
The former activist was later released after publicly apologizing and is now cooperating with authorities.
In a short video posted alongside a photo of Victor Babarico, the suspect said the prisoner “seemed to be in good spirits” and was cheerful, and that the two chatted and joked together. “I even laughed,” he said. Mr Babariko could not comment on himself.
The photo of the former presidential candidate was published just before the next elections in Belarus on January 26th. This time, no real opposition candidates are allowed to participate.
There are reports that prominent political prisoners are under pressure to ask Lukashenko for formal pardons ahead of the vote, so he could show mercy by releasing them. .
The photo of Viktor Babariko in prison may also be intended to remind Belarusians of the immense risks of openly protesting.
Dozens of lesser-known figures have been released in recent months, but others were quickly arrested in their place.
Human rights group Viasna calculates that there are currently 1,258 political prisoners in the country.
Among the celebrities who have not yet been seen or heard from for many months is the political activist Sergei Tsikhanovsky, who was arrested in 2020 and whose wife Svetlana ran in the elections on his behalf.
Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is currently in exile, told the BBC this week that the upcoming presidential vote was a “sham” and “performance” orchestrated by Alexander Lukashenko to extend his grip on power. spoke.
