What is a political prisoner?

Reading Plato on Death Row - New APPS: Art, Politics, Philosophy, Science:

We talked about whether Socrates was a political prisoner, which raised the further question: What is a political prisoner? Is it someone who is punished by the state for their beliefs or political actions? What about the person who is disproportionately punished for a crime in order to serve the interests of a few politicians seeking re-election? And where does this leave the prisoner who commited a crime, perhaps a horrible crime, but has managed to transform themselves within prison thanks to formal and informal educational opportunities that they never had on the outside? At what point does a prisoner become political, and what sort of resistance is possible for those who aspire to be principled rather than spineless?

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