“Babaryko is alive!”
Those were the words of Viktor Babaryko’s team after seeing the first images of the imprisoned Belarusian opposition politician in more than 630 days.
Arrested in 2020 as he tried to run for president against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Babaryko was then held incommunicado behind bars as extra punishment.
His political team describe the time with no contact or information about him at all as “torturous”.
In a short video just released, Babaryko is filmed sending greetings to his family. There are also three photographs, including one that shows him writing a letter, apparently also to relatives. It’s not clear exactly when the pictures were taken.
Dressed in black prison overalls, the former banker has lost a considerable amount of weight since his detention.
Other high-profile political prisoners have also been held incommunicado in Belarus, including Maria Kolesnikova, who was part of Babaryko’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 had been falsified to keep Lukashenko in office.
Last November, similar images were suddenly released of Kolesnikova, taken in prison when her father was allowed his first visit in more than a year-and-a-half. There has been no news of her since.
In both cases, the photos and videos were published by Roman Protasevich, co-founder of the Telegram channel Nexta that was widely followed during the 2020 mass protests.
In 2021, he was arrested after his Ryanair flight was diverted mid-air to Belarus and forced to land following a fake bomb threat.
The former activist was later released from prison after making a public apology, and now co-operates with the authorities.
In a short video that he posted alongside the photographs of Viktor Babaryko, he said the prisoner had “looked well”, claimed he was cheerful and that the two had chatted, joked and “even laughed” together. Babaryko doesn’t get to comment for himself.
The pictures of the former presidential contender have emerged shortly before the next election in Belarus, on 26 January. This time, no genuine opposition candidates at all have been allowed to take part.
There have been reports that well-known political prisoners are under pressure to request an official pardon from Lukashenko ahead of the vote, so that he might release them and look merciful.
It’s also possible the images of Viktor Babaryko in prison are meant to remind Belarusians of the immense risk of open opposition.
A few dozen less prominent figures have been released in recent months, but others have swiftly been arrested to replace them.
The human rights group Viasna currently calculates that there are 1,258 political prisoners in the country.
Among the high-profile names still not seen or heard of for many months are Sergei Tikhanovsky, the political activist arrested in 2020 whose wife Svetlana went on to run in the election in his place.
Now leader of the opposition, forced into exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told the BBC this week that the upcoming presidential vote was a “sham” and a “performance” staged by Alexander Lukashenko in order to extend his grip on power.
