“Babaryko is alive!”
These were the words of Viktor Babaryk’s team after they saw the first pictures of the jailed Belarusian opposition politician in more than 630 days.
Arrested in 2020 while trying to run for president against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Babaryko was then held in solitary confinement behind bars as additional punishment.
His political team describes the time without any contact and information about him as “painful”.
In a short video that was just released, Babaryko was filmed sending greetings to his family. There are also three photographs, including one in which he writes a letter, apparently also to relatives. It is not clear when exactly the photos were taken.
Dressed in a black prison jumpsuit, the former banker has lost a lot of weight since being in custody.
Other prominent political prisoners have also been held in solitary confinement in Belarus, including Maria Kolesnikova, who was part of Babaryk’s 2020 presidential campaign team until his arrest.
She then became one of the leaders of the mass protests that erupted after the election, which the EU said was rigged to keep Lukashenko in power.
Last November, similar pictures of Kolesnikova, taken in prison when her father was allowed to visit her for the first time in more than a year and a half, were suddenly published. Since then there has been no news about her.
In both cases, the photos and videos were posted by Roman Protasevich, co-founder of the Telegram channel Next, which was widely followed during the mass protests of 2020.
In 2021, he was arrested after his Ryanair flight was diverted mid-air to Belarus and forced to land after a fake bomb threat.
The former activist was later released from prison after a public apology, and is now cooperating with the authorities.
In a short video he posted alongside photos of Viktor Babaryk, he said the prisoner “looked good”, claimed he was cheerful and the two chatted, joked and “even laughed” together. Babaryko does not have time to comment on his own behalf.
Pictures of the former presidential candidate appeared just before the next elections in Belarus, on January 26. This time, not a single real opposition candidate was allowed to participate.
There were reports that prominent political prisoners were being pressured to seek an official pardon from Lukashenko before the vote, so that he could release them and appear merciful.
It is also possible that the pictures of Viktor Babaryk in prison are meant to remind Belarusians of the enormous risk of open opposition.
Several dozen less prominent figures were released in recent months, but others were quickly arrested to replace them.
The human rights group Viasna currently calculates that there are 1,258 political prisoners in the country.
Among the prominent names who have not been seen or heard from for months is Sergej Tihanovski, a political activist arrested in 2020 whose wife Svetlana ran in the elections instead of him.
Now the opposition leader, forced into exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told the BBC this week that the upcoming presidential election was a “fraud” and a “performance” by Alexander Lukashenko to expand his power.
