#WhereAreThey: When Political Prisoners Are Held Incommunicado

Background

Political prisoners worldwide typically experience worse treatment than other prisoners. While incarcerated, political prisoners are often held in deplorable conditions, and are routinely subjected to torture, insufficient food, psychological pressure, and periods of isolation. They are also frequently denied lawyer visits, contact with family, and access to adequate medical care. According to US Department of State estimates, there are approximately one million political prisoners being held worldwide. As democratic governments increasingly call attention to and work to free political prisoners across the world, more awareness is needed of a pervasive and sinister condition of political imprisonment: regimes’ abrupt disappearing of political prisoners for periods of time. In some cases, disappearances occur under the cover of transferring a prisoner to a new location; in other, more egregious cases, regimes hold political prisoners incommunicado for indefinite periods of time, while also withholding information on their whereabouts and well-being.

It is commonly said that a political prisoner’s worst fear is to be forgotten. For those detained on politically motivated grounds, international attention can mean the difference between life and death; keeping a spotlight on those behind bars often makes it more difficult for regimes to hide their abuses. Forcibly disappearing political prisoners for any length of time dramatically increases their vulnerability and hinders the international community’s ability to support those behind bars. When regimes resort to disappearing political prisoners, the democratic community must be ready to act. In cases of both short- and long-term disappearances, there are things the international community can do to help.

Short-Term Disappearances: Political Prisoner Transfers

While a prison transfer may sound routine or uneventful in democratic countries, in countries rated Not Free by Freedom House, this is an acutely dangerous time—particularly for those with medical conditions. As illustrated by the case of Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny, prior notification to a prisoner’s family or legal team is often not provided. One day the lawyer can visit; the next day the lawyer is told that the prisoner is simply not there. During the transfer, prisoners are often subjected to an arduous physical journey, which can last several weeks. Until prisoners’ whereabouts are reestablished, they are at especially high risk of abuse.

Long-Term Disappearances: Political Prisoners Held Incommunicado

More egregious than short-term disappearance is the growing trend of holding political prisoners incommunicado for indefinite periods of time. A tactic intended to make prisoners believe that the outside world has forgotten them, incommunicado detention denies prisoners access to legal representation and contact or correspondence with their families. This punitive and deliberate isolation is intended to increase physical and emotional stress for both the prisoners and their loved ones. As with short-term disappearances, incommunicado detention allows prison authorities to hide evidence of their mistreatment of political prisoners more readily—a grim reality that leaves many on the outside wondering if their loved ones are still alive.

Belarusians Held Incommunicado According to the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, the Lukashenka regime has increased its practice of holding Belarusian political prisoners incommunicado. The leading Belarusian human rights group, Viasna, reports that eight political prisoners are currently being held incommunicado for extended periods of time, six of whom have been held without correspondence with and access to lawyers and family for more than one year.  Photo Credits: VIASNA Human Rights Center

When a regime holds someone incommunicado and refuses to acknowledge the detainee’s whereabouts and fate, the case can officially be considered an enforced disappearance under international law. According to Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, an enforced disappearance is considered to be “the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.” Additionally, enforced disappearances can constitute a crime against humanity according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

A Global Phenomenon

There are many cases of political prisoners being held incommunicado or forcibly disappeared around the world. In Eritrea, for example, multiple journalists have been detained incommunicado for more than a decade; in many cases, the international community does not know whether they are still alive. One such case involves Swedish-Eritrean playwright and journalist Dawit Isaak, who has been held incommunicado without trial since 2001, when he was arrested during a crackdown on independent journalists. Enforced disappearance is also a pervasive phenomenon in Saudi Arabia; the regime has even forcibly disappeared human rights defenders who were due for release from prison, like Mohammed al-Qahtani and Essa al-Nukheifi. The Egyptian regime regularly disappears political prisoners as well, as illustrated by the cases of Mohamed Adel, a political activist and lawyer, and Hoda Abdel-Moneim, a human rights defender and a former member of the National Council for Human Rights, both of whom have faced forcible disappearance while detained.

How the Democratic Community Can Respond

The international community can support political prisoners who are forcibly disappeared. Public and private pressure on the perpetrator regime is essential during these periods of acute vulnerability; indeed, we know that international outcry can have a noticeable effect. In July 2023, after receiving an anonymous message that her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski—who was (and is still) being held incommunicado—had died in prison, Belarusian democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya publicly demanded an update on his status. Tsikhanouskaya's plea received widespread support across the international community, and the Lukashenka regime ultimately responded by airing footage of Tsikhanouski on state television, thereby offering proof of life.

As Tsikhanouskaya said recently, “we do not need special occasions” to highlight the names and stories of those who have been disappeared within the prison system. To help address political prisoner disappearances, democratic governments should:

• Urge perpetrator governments to ensure a transparent and impartial review of cases in line with international human rights standards.
• Raise alarm with perpetrator governments through public and private communications channels. It is critical that disappeared political prisoners’ names not leave the public spotlight, despite the individual’s physical isolation. In moments like these, programs for democratic government officials to “adopt a political prisoner” should be leveraged, as these advocates can play a key role in highlighting the prisoner’s circumstances.
• Press for routine, ongoing access to local prisons to assess conditions and make contact with those being held in isolation.
• Work in tandem with civil society partners to document and seek accountability for the mistreatment of political prisoners and amplify individual cases.
• Provide financial and technical support to human rights lawyers who face the daunting task of trying to locate and reestablish contact with those being held incommunicado.
• Where appropriate, provide support to prisoners’ families and assure them that their loved ones are not forgotten.

For more recommendations on how democratic governments can help secure the release of political prisoners, please visit www.freedomhouse.org.