What Does It Take to Release a Political Prisoner? - A Review Essay by Natalya Kovaleva
What Does It Take to Release a Political Prisoner? - A Review Essay by Natalya Kovaleva
Author(s): Natalya KovalevaSubject(s): Politics, Communication studies, International relations/trade, Security and defense, Penal Policy
Published by: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
Keywords: political prisoners; hostage diplomacy; Belarus; US foreign policy; authoritarian legitimisation; values-based communication; strategic communication; strategic communications;
Summary/Abstract: ‘They kept saying, “Someone like you will never get out of here alive.” And I believed them.’ We sat in an eerily empty coffee shop in Vilnius; my companion had paused over her coffee. It was a standard line, apparently. The kind used by prison security officers to erode the hope of many Belarusian political prisoners who were arrested following the mass protests of 2020 and 2021. The largest in the country’s post-Soviet history, they erupted after Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed victory in a presidential election widely deemed fraudulent. What followed was a sweeping crackdown: arrests, repression, and international condemnation.
Journal: Defence Strategic Communications
- Issue Year: 17/2026
- Issue No: 17
- Page Range: 180-198
- Page Count: 19
- Language: English
