The imprisoned Belarusian oppositionist Babarika is seen for the first time in several months

“Babarika is alive!”

This was announced by Viktar Babarika’s team after seeing the first images of the imprisoned Belarusian opposition politician in more than 630 days.

Arrested in 2020 when he tried to run for president against the authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, Babaryk was then held incommunicado as an additional punishment.

His political team describes the time without contact or information about him as “excruciating”.

In the newly published short video, the old woman sends greetings to her family. There are also three photos, including one of him writing a letter, apparently also to relatives. It is not known exactly when the pictures were taken.

Dressed in a black prison jumpsuit, the former banker has lost a lot of weight since his arrest.

Other prominent political prisoners have also been held incommunicado in Belarus, including Maria Kalesnikova, who was part of Babaryka’s 2020 presidential election team before his arrest.

She then became one of the leaders of the mass protests that erupted after the election, which the EU believes was rigged to keep Lukashenka in office.

Last November, similar pictures of Kolesnikova, taken in prison, were suddenly published when her father was allowed his first date in more than a year and a half. Since then, there was no news about her.

In both cases, the photo and video were published by Roman Pratasevich, co-founder of the Telegram channel Nexta, which was popular during the mass protests of 2020.

In 2021, he was arrested after his Ryanair flight was diverted mid-air to Belarus and forced to land after a fake bomb threat.

The former activist was released from prison after a public apology and is now cooperating with the authorities.

In a short video he posted alongside photos of Viktor Babarika, he said the prisoner “looked good”, claimed he was cheerful and that they chatted, joked and “even laughed” together. Babaryka himself cannot comment.

Photos of the ex-presidential candidate appeared shortly before the next election in Belarus, on January 26. This time, not a single real opposition candidate was allowed to participate.

There were reports that prominent political prisoners were being pressured to ask Lukashenka for an official pardon on the eve of the vote, so that he would release them and appear merciful.

It is also possible that the images of Viktar Babarika in prison are intended to remind Belarusians of the enormous danger of open opposition.

Several dozen lesser-known figures have been released in recent months, but others were quickly arrested in their stead.

The human rights organization “Viasna” has now calculated that there are 1,258 political prisoners in the country.

Among the famous names who have not been seen or heard about for many months, Siarhei Tsikhanovsky, a political activist arrested in 2020, whose wife Sviatlana ran in the elections instead of him.

Now forced into exile, opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanovskaya told the BBC this week that the upcoming presidential election is a “fake” and a “spectacle” orchestrated by Alexander Lukashenko to extend his power.