A group of 17 independent UN experts said on Monday they had received information pointing to deeply alarming detention practices that may amount to grave violations of international law at the Novopolotsk correctional colony in northern Belarus. They stated that detainees in Novopolotsk Colony may be subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, disciplinary sanctions and physical punishments after suicide attempts. If confirmed, such practices may amount to torture and ill-treatment, and, under certain circumstances, may entail the commission of enforced disappearance.
The allegations include denial of essential medical care and reprisals for attempting to raise complaints, especially after confidential meetings with the colony's psychologist. The case of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Losik illustrates the harsh treatment described. Losik was arbitrarily detained on politically motivated charges and held at several facilities including Novopolotsk, with his prison sentence beginning in June 2022 after his 2020 arrest.
According to the UN experts, Losik endured prolonged isolation in harsh conditions and attempted suicide twice while in custody. After one reported suicide attempt where he seriously injured himself, he was allegedly denied hospitalization and put into disciplinary isolation. The experts said punishing detainees for suicide attempts rather than ensuring urgent psychological and medical care is profoundly disturbing and incompatible with basic human rights standards.
Losik was among 52 political prisoners released and expelled from Belarus in September 2025. The UN experts also raised concern over the reported 2023 death in custody of an older detainee with health conditions, who was held in isolation without adequate care. They stated that deaths in custody amid allegations of isolation, denial of care and concealment of information from families raise the most serious concerns under international law.
There are more than 1,100 political prisoners in Belarusian jails. Separately, a team of UN investigators slammed the Belarusian government's decision since last year to invalidate the passports of political prisoners who were forcibly expelled from the country following their release. The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus interviewed a large number of former detainees left without valid travel documents as a result.
They called the measure contrary to international law and without legal ground or justification, urging Belarusian authorities to immediately remedy the situation.