Reports

The growing trend of democratic backsliding and weakened human rights protections has
made politically motivated imprisonment a recurring practice. As freedom of speech and
expression are the cornerstones of democracy, when governments jail their opponents or
those who express different political views, it constitutes a direct threat to democratic values
and the rule of law. Therefore, it is crucial to critically examine new signs of political
repression, arbitrary imprisonment, and shrinking civic space in order to better understand
and respond to potential threats to democracy across Europe.

As it is mentioned in the first part of the report, there is no single established definition of
political prisoners. However, for the purposes of this report, we will use the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe definition, which was adopted by the Council of Europe
member states in 2012.1 According to this, a person deprived of their personal liberty is to be
regarded as a “political prisoner” if:

a. the detention has been imposed in violation of one of the fundamental guarantees set out in
the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and its Protocols, in particular freedom
of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of
assembly and association;
b. the detention has been imposed for purely political reasons without connection to any
of ence;
c. for political motives, the length of the detention or its conditions are clearly out of
proportion to the of ence the person has been found guilty of or is suspected of;
d. for political motives, he or she is detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to
other persons; or,
e. the detention is the result of proceedings which were clearly unfair and this appears to be
connected with political motives of the authorities. (SG/Inf(2001)34, paragraph 10).

This report is divided into two parts. The first part, focusing on political dissent in Europe,
begins by discussing existing protection mechanisms, specifically the mechanisms available
to the Council of Europe, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the
United Nations, and the European Union, to protect people from arbitrary detention. It then
delves into the Southern and Eastern European countries and assesses each country by four
indicators. The indicators used to assess the situation vary by region to reflect the distinct
challenges each area faces. For Southern European countries, such as Greece, Italy, and
Spain, the assessment focuses on the legacies of democratic transitions, structural
weaknesses, selective justice, and political clientelism. These indicators highlight how older,
established democracies may still struggle with systemic issues. As for the Eastern European
countries, including Hungary, Poland, the Balkans, and former Soviet space, the four indicators – systemic repression, authoritarian consolidation, post-conflict challenges, and
illiberal drift within the EU, reflect the more acute and recent challenges of moving from
post-communist or conflict states towards fully consolidated democracies. The first part of
the report concludes that the threat of mass repression and political imprisonment is lower in
Southern Europe compared to Eastern Europe, but at the same time, the erosion of the
democratic system through selective justice and corruption remains.

This part of the report will focus on Central and Western Europe, Northern Europe, the
Caucasus, and Türkiye. For Central and Western Europe, the countries will be evaluated by
these indicators: anti-terrorism legislation, exceptional measures, preventive (pre-trial)
detention, migrants, and minority rights. This grouping highlights the challenge these
historically stable democracies face in balancing national security and fundamental rights.
The focus is on the legal and administrative measures that, while intended to counter modern
threats like terroristm and migration crises, can potentially erode civil liberties and
disproportionately affect minority populations. In Northern Europe, the analysis will focus on
the following: digital surveillance, civil liberties, and detention linked to immigration and
security. Northern European nations generally rank highly in civil liberties, yet they are at the
forefront of implementing advanced technological and security measures.The chosen
indicators reflect the tension between their strong rule of law traditions and the relatively
new frontier of security risks posed by digital monitoring and controlled immigration
policies. Lastly, in the section on the Caucasus and Türkiye, the report will focus on illiberal
democracies, authoritarianism, the massive detention of opponents and minorities, and armed
conflicts and civic space. This area is characterised by geopolitical instability, protracted
conflicts, and systems of governance that are either rapidly moving away from democratic
norms or are fully authoritarian.

The second part of the report will then synthesise the recurring trends across the regions and
show the differences and similarities between the countries and regions as well. Then, the
report will draw a set of policy recommendations for member states, for the OSCE, for the
Council of Europe, and for the European Union. These recommendations will suggest
measures aimed at eliminating the existence of political prisoners in Europe, and at
strengthening the democratic safeguards required to prevent their recurrence.