Panic Attacks and Suicidal Thoughts: Political Prisoner Leanovich’s Mental Health Deteriorates in Prison
Reform.news Editorial Team · 26 October 2026, 20:05
https://reform.news/en/panic-attacks-and-suicidal-thoughts-political-prisoner-leanovich-s-mental-health-deteriorates-in-prison/The mental health of political prisoner Maryna Leanovich has deteriorated in prison, a former political prisoner who served her sentence alongside Maryna told the Viasna Human Rights Centre. The woman, identified as Katsiaryna (name changed), shared the information.
Maryna Leanovich graduated from the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (BSUIR) and worked as a front-end developer at EPAM. She wrote articles for the Belarusian-language Wikipedia, translated texts into Belarusian and wrote poetry. After the war began, Maryna moved to Tbilisi. She was detained after returning to Belarus. In 2024, Leanovich was sentenced to five years in prison for making donations.
According to the woman who spoke to Viasna, Maryna’s condition deteriorated in December 2025 after a friend of hers was released, and worsened further in the summer of 2026.
“From July to August, she probably experienced her most severe episode. She has very frequent suicidal thoughts. Also, when an episode begins, she stops writing to her parents and husband. She simply disappears — stops communicating with her relatives, may not write or call them, and may refuse to answer their calls. And it is difficult to bring her back,” Katsiaryna said.
Maryna tends to become attached to one person and then struggles when contact is broken off, the Viasna source noted. Another crisis occurred when a prisoner Maryna had been communicating with was transferred to another unit.
“Maryna cried for a very long time and constantly tried to find some way to stay in touch with her — to tell her about her new stories and books. She began having panic attacks. There is a routine activity called ‘Vektor’: they herd us in there and we watch television. She started having panic attacks, and, as she described it, hallucinations — sounds in her ears. She could not sit in a room with a large number of people. Through the psychologist, she was granted permission not to attend ‘Vektor,’” Katsiaryna said.
In July 2026, Maryna shut herself inside a room with washing machines and would not let anyone in, agreeing to speak only with one of her friends. According to Katsiaryna, Maryna was in such a severe condition that she did not recognize her.
Maryna was transferred to a so-called safe room, where she spent 10 days. The “safe room” is located in the same building as the punishment cell. During the day, prisoners are not allowed to sit or lie down in the cell.
According to Katsiaryna, Maryna fainted while in the “safe room.” She was then placed on bed rest.
“After the safe room, psychologists visited her, as far as I know. She later told me that a psychiatrist and an operational supervisor had also come. So she was definitely visited. A decision was made to admit her to hospital. She spent 18 days in hospital. That means 10 days in the safe room plus 18 days in hospital. Nobody visited her in hospital, and she was not taking any medication. It was as if she had simply been isolated — that was all,” the former political prisoner said.