Aleh Baradzin examines why the families of political prisoners and political emigrants have become part of Belarus’s repressive system. Here, he reveals how the authorities use prisoners' families to exert pressure on political opponents
Following the victory of Alexander Lukashenko in a 2020 election marred by widespread claims of electoral fraud, Belarus experienced the largest wave of political repression in its modern history. Lukashenko's regime subjected thousands of citizens to arrests, criminal prosecutions, prison sentences, and forced emigration. However, repression did not affect only the regime’s political opponents. Their spouses, parents, children, and other family members also came under pressure.
In Belarus, 'repression' means more than simply the arrest or imprisonment of the regime's vocal opponents. Repression now affects family members, property, employment, children's education, and social ties. Relatives face searches, interrogations, administrative pressure, and other forms of political persecution.
After their release, or under the threat of renewed persecution, many former political prisoners were forced to leave Belarus in haste. Their families, however, remained in the country. As a result, these relatives became tools of pressure against dissidents outside Belarus, and thus beyond the regime’s direct control.
Human rights organisations regularly document that Lukashenko's regime subjects relatives of political prisoners and members of the Belarusian diaspora to searches, repeated searches, interrogations, inspections, and administrative surveillance. Authorities demand information about the whereabouts of relatives, about their activities, contacts, and social networks abroad.
Between 2024 and 2026, pressure on relatives featured prominently in the repressive practices of the regime. Belarusian authorities initiated criminal cases against participants in democratic initiatives abroad. The country's Investigative Committee publicly identified people involved in such initiatives – along with family members not directly involved.
Belarusian authorities initiated criminal cases against citizens participating in democratic initiatives abroad – and even publicly identified family members not directly involved
The pressure did not stop there. Family members of political prisoners and political emigrants report increased attention from educational institutions. There are summonses to schools, and conversations with school administrators. Representatives of state authorities make regular contact. In some cases, families fear that authorities may place a child or an entire family on a register of those considered to be in a socially dangerous situation.
Such registration entails increased monitoring by child protection authorities and other state institutions. This may lead to restrictions on parental rights or even the removal of a child from the family. Even the threat of such measures becomes an effective instrument of psychological pressure.
Repression also affects the economic sphere. Relatives of political prisoners and political emigrants, for example, face difficulties in finding employment, risks of dismissal, additional inspections, and restrictions in their interactions with state institutions. Having a 'politically unreliable' relative becomes an additional factor of pressure in employment and work within the public sector.
The authorities also rely on trials in absentia, designate organisations 'extremist', and add individuals to lists of extremists and terrorists. This affects not only the political emigrants themselves, but their relatives, too.
Authorities ensure that relatives of political prisoners face difficulties finding employment and managing property
Such measures affect not only the owner of the property. A property, for example, could be a jointly owned family asset that is the only home available to relatives. Property-related pressure thus affects not only political emigrants but their wider families.
Additional pressure has emerged through restrictions on consular and notarial services for Belarusian citizens abroad. Following these changes, passports, powers of attorney, real estate transactions, inheritance documents, and a range of other legally significant procedures can be processed only within the territory of Belarus.
For political prisoners and political emigrants, this situation creates a state of legal uncertainty. Returning to Belarus constitutes a direct threat to their liberty and personal security. Many are unable to manage their property, obtain necessary documents, or resolve important family matters.
A vicious cycle emerges: without the participation of the owner, real estate, ownership shares, and other assets cannot be fully transferred, sold, or re-registered. The owner, meanwhile, cannot safely return to the country to complete the required procedures. For prisoners' family members, this complicates the resolution of property, inheritance, and other legally significant matters.
Even after the regime expels political prisoners, authorities ensure their families remain dependent on decisions made by Belarusian authorities
Restrictions on access to documents, powers of attorney, and various notarial procedures further reinforce this dependency. As a result, property becomes an anchor of dependence on the Belarusian system. Families retain legal and property ties to the country, remain dependent on decisions made by Belarusian authorities, and continue to face pressure from the state even after a political prisoner or political emigre has left Belarus.
Human rights organisations have documented additional forms of pressure. Authorities put pressure on relatives of political emigrants to persuade family members to return to Belarus. They urge former prisoners to apply to the Commission for the Return of Citizens, established by the Belarusian authorities to work with emigrants residing abroad. State media and security services representatives portray such returns as former prisoners' 'repentance'.
So, the state uses family members to influence former prisoners outside the country. International organisations increasingly view this as transnational repression. Scholars describe it as coercion by proxy.
Pressure on families creates additional risks for political emigrants. It restricts their ability to engage in public and political activity, and it amplifies the broader climate of fear.
Relatives of political prisoners and political emigrants have become part of the repressive Belarusian system. Through searches, interrogations, threats, economic pressure, restrictions on property rights, interference in family life, and administrative measures, the regime maintains influence even over those outside Belarus. Even after prisoners' release or expulsion, authorities can still exert pressure on families, and continue manipulating political opponents.
