For relatives of political prisoners: letters, parcels, help
Whom to write to now
- Belarus and abroad · extremist in Belarus
Viasna Human Rights Centre
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
I understand the risk, continue - abroad (Vilnius) · extremist in Belarus
BYSOL Belarusian Solidarity Foundation
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
I understand the risk, continue - abroad · extremist in Belarus
Dissidentby
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
I understand the risk, continue
Draft: not yet checked by a lawyer
The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.Draft What human rights defenders advise
For relatives of political prisoners: letters, parcels, help
- Addresses for letters are on Politzek.me ('extremist' in Belarus; from Belarus, open it on a device that is not checked). Human rights groups advise keeping letters neutral, with no politics or other people's names, or the censor won't pass them.
- BYSOL, Dissidentby and Politzek.me help with parcels and legal fees (all 'extremist' in Belarus; see the risk in the next point); INeedHelpBY sends food packages to families.
- Helping with parcels has itself led to prosecutions, so sending money through funds is safer than paying directly. But people in Belarus have also been prosecuted for receiving help from funds designated 'extremist'. Ask the fund itself how to receive money more safely.
- After release: group therapy and support at the Belarusian House in Warsaw, resocialisation help from Dissidentby (both 'extremist' in Belarus).
- A Belarusian colony must notify a relative of a prisoner's arrival within 3 working days, but only if the prisoner has made a written request (Belarus Penal Enforcement Code, art. 15). Some political prisoners are held for years with no contact with the outside world ('incommunicado'): in August 2026 Viasna named two people who have not been heard from for about three years.
Designations of organisations in this guide: Viasna Human Rights Centre (extremist in Belarus); BYSOL Belarusian Solidarity Foundation (extremist in Belarus); Dissidentby (extremist in Belarus); Politzek.me (extremist in Belarus); INeedHelpBY (extremist in Belarus); Belarusian House in Warsaw (extremist in Belarus). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.
current as of 7 October 2026. More: Politzek.me: write a letter (extremist in Belarus); Honest People: 'A country of hostages' (extremist in Belarus); Viasna: guide for families of released prisoners (extremist in Belarus); Pravo.by: Belarus Penal Enforcement Code; Zerkalo: Viasna's August 2026 review, incommunicado cases (extremist in Belarus)