World Press Photo 2021 winners | Second prize | Waiting for Release at a Detention Centre in Belarus

[ukhudshanskiy]

Olga Sieviaryniec waits for her husband, Paval, outside a detention centre in Minsk, Belarus, on 22 July 2020. Paval Sieviaryniec had been held on remand since 7 June, and his family had learned he was about to be released. Olga waited outside the prison for two hours, but Paval was not freed. Paval Sieviaryniec is a Christian Democrat politician and a well-known political activist. He is one of the founders of Youth Front, a youth movement supporting civil society, and was arrested while collecting signatures in support of candidates to stand against President Alexander Lukashenko in his bid for a sixth consecutive term in office.
Photograph: Nadia Buzhan/World Press Photo 2021