News

The EUAA has published a Country of Origin Information (COI) report on political opposition and dissent in Belarus. It provides a comprehensive overview of the country’s increasingly restrictive political landscape following the 2025 presidential elections, and the lasting impact of the 2020 protests.

Covering the period between 1 January 2025 and 1 April 2026, the report gives a detailed overview of the current human rights situation in Belarus. It highlights restrictions on freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly and association, and examines the situation of political opponents, protesters, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, political prisoners, and their relatives, as well as LGBTIQ+ persons and activists.

The country’s political system and governance is characterised by the authoritarian power of President Lukashenka, who, following the January 2025 elections, claimed a seventh consecutive term in office. The authorities have continued a systematic campaign of repression against those involved in the 2020 protests, with thousands of people convicted on politically motivated charges or forced into exile. Legislation has been widely used to criminalise dissent. Individuals have been subjected to prosecution for expressing critique of the authorities, supporting Ukraine, or associating with organisations deemed extremist. 

The judiciary functions as a tool of political repression, with proceedings conducted in absentia and trials held behind closed doors. Law enforcement agencies carry out large-scale surveillance over the population and the Belarusian diaspora abroad. Belarusians returning to the country are subjected to systematic phone searches and interrogations at border crossing points. The authorities have also extended repression to the family members of activists and political prisoners through raids, interrogations, and the confiscation of property.

EU asylum situation for Belarusian nationals

In 2025, Belarusians lodged 3 800 asylum applications in the EU+, a decrease of a quarter compared to 2024. So far, this declining trend has persisted in January and February 2026, with Belarusians lodging 450 applications, almost 40% less than in the same period the previous year. Between January 2025 and February 2026, over three quarters of Belarusian applications were lodged in Poland.

In the same period, around 3 200 first instance decisions were issued, with a recognition rate of 71%. Notably, over three quarters of positive outcomes granted subsidiary protection. At the end of February 2026, close to 4 000 Belarusian applications were awaiting a decision at first instance, with the majority pending in Poland.