institutional access

You are connecting from
Lake Geneva Public Library,
please login or register to take advantage of your institution's Ground News Plan.

Published BelarusUpdated

A Political Prisoner Dies in Belarusian Prison, Human Rights Activists Say

  • Valiantsin Shtermer, a 61-year-old Belarusian businessman, passed away in a prison colony located in the city of Shklow during his five-year imprisonment.
  • Shtermer was convicted in October 2023 for insulting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko amid a crackdown triggered by 2020 mass protests against a disputed election.
  • Human rights organizations have identified Valiantsin Shtermer as the eighth political detainee to pass away while imprisoned since 2020, highlighting the harsh detention conditions faced by nearly 1,200 political prisoners currently held in Belarus.
  • Pavel Sapelka of the Viasna Human Rights Center stated that the Belarusian government is entirely accountable for mistreating political detainees and subjecting them to severe and inhumane conditions, which have led to fatalities.
  • The death highlights ongoing international concern, with UN experts condemning appalling prison conditions and deliberate ill-treatment of detainees linked to the 2020 protests.
Does this summary seem wrong?

25 Articles

All
Left
5
Center
7
Right
1
Lean Left

Valiantsin Shtermer, 61, died in a prison colony in Shklow city, according to the Viasna Human Rights Center

·Buenos Aires, Argentina
Read Full Article
Colorado Springs GazetteColorado Springs Gazette
+11 Reposted by 11 other sources
Center

A political prisoner dies in Belarusian prison, human rights activists say

A human rights group says a Belarusian man has died in prison while serving a prison sentence for insulting the country’s authoritarian president. The Viasna Human Rights Center said Thursday that Valiantsin Shtermer, 61, died in a prison colony of…

·Colorado Springs, United States
Read Full Article

In Belarus, since 2020, at least 135 persons have been convicted by the "extremist groups" of their Donats, reporting to the human rights centre "Viasna", a total of 1,187 political prisoners in the country, stating that these persons have been convicted under articles 361-2 of the Criminal Code (financing extremist activities), 290-1 (financing terrorist activities), 361-3 (participation in the territory of a foreign State in armed formation or…

In a prison in the city of Shklov in eastern Belarus, 61-year-old businessman Valyancin Shtermer, sentenced to five years for insulting the country's authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, died while serving his sentence, the AP agency reported, citing the human rights NGO Vyasna.

Belarusian human rights activists say Valentin Stermer, who was sentenced to five years in prison for eight online comments criticizing Russian aggression and insulting the Russian military, has died in prison. The 61-year-old businessman is accused of making insulting comments about President Lukashenko and linking him to a group considered “extremist.” Stermer reportedly suffered a stroke before being sent to the notoriously harsh Sklou PK-17 …

·Hungary
Read Full Article
Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 54% of the sources are Center
54% Center
Factuality

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

tvpworld.com broke the news in on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
Sources are mostly out of United States (4)

You have read 2 out of your 5 free daily articles.

Our use of cookies
Unlike other news sites, we do not share or sell your data to third-parties for targeted ads.
By continuing to use our application or website, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.