Many worthy people are held in the prisons and penal colonies of Belarus. When a loved one ends up behind bars, it is a blow to the whole family, which now spends almost all its resources on securing the prisoner's access to legal aid and on sending them essential items, food and medicine. But there are families in which more than one person has faced criminal prosecution.
1. Elena and Siarhei Movshuk
On 9 August 2020, after 8 p.m., residents of Pinsk came to the polling stations to find out the voting results. By 9 p.m. several thousand people had gathered. The entrance was blocked by officers of the district police department. Five delegates from among the waiting crowd were sent to negotiate with the city authorities. Two and a half hours later, security reinforcements arrived and surrounded the people, leaving them no way to leave. The people decided to break through, using whatever came to hand. The security forces retreated, and the people of Pinsk went home. On 10 August people took to the streets in protest again, and the protest ended in brutal arrests. Elena and Siarhei were detained that day and taken to a detention centre. Elena was then transferred to a pre-trial detention centre (SIZO), while Siarhei was released under house arrest. The couple have one child together, and Elena has two more children from a previous marriage.
The court sentenced Elena to 6 years in prison and Siarhei to 6.5 years. He was taken into custody on the day of the verdict. After a long time the situation with the children was resolved, and they are now living with relatives.
2. Nadzezhda and Uladzimir Kalach
On 2 August 2021, musicians of the fantasy folk band Irdorath were detained, with shots fired, at a country house near Minsk. Among them were the band's leaders, the married couple Nadzezhda and Uladzimir Kalach. The couple are members of Irdorath, which performs original, folk and medieval music. They were sentenced to 2 years in prison for taking part in protests. Back then the musicians went out into the streets and played their music.
Another couple was detained along with them: 3. Yulia and Petr Marchenko. They were sentenced to 1.5 years in prison. The couple were released on 11 October 2022.
4. Lyubov, Sergey and Pavel Rezanovich
The Rezanovich family were detained on 1 December 2020 in the “Autukhovich case”. Like Autukhovich, Lyubov Rezanovich used to own a taxi service. Lyubov's husband Sergey Rezanovich is an Orthodox priest from the village of Stepanki in Zhabinka District. He commuted to work from Brest and had been the village parish priest since 2004. Pavel Rezanovich worked in the enforcement department of Leninsky District in Brest. They were accused of “aiding and abetting” Nikolay Autukhovich.
On 17 October 2022 all the defendants were sentenced to long prison terms. Lyubov Rezanovich received 15 years in prison, Sergey 16 years, and their son Pavel 19 years.
5. Antonina Konovalova and Sergey Yaroshevich
Antonina met her future husband while working as a logistics specialist: Sergey worked for the same company as a driver. In 2020 Antonina became a volunteer at the headquarters of “Country for Life”. She was detained on 6 September 2020: her bag contained a badge reading “Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Headquarters”. Two searches were carried out in front of the children: in Minsk and at their country house, during which armed men with assault rifles stood around the house. Sergey was the author of the channel “Army with the People”.
The couple were sentenced to 5.5 years in prison. The grandmother was forced to flee with the children through the forests to another country. They are now safe and waiting for their parents. The family has two children.
The Laptanoviches married in 2007, when they were both 19. When the persecution began, Yulia thought about moving to the city or even leaving Belarus altogether. But her husband was against it. Both spouses were convicted in the “round dance case” in Brest. Igor was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, and Yulia to 3 years of “home khimiya” (restricted freedom served at home).
Some time later Yulia was arrested again. After her appeal was considered, Yulia's final sentence was 4 years and 9 months in prison. The family has three children.
7. Irina Zlobina and Andrey Alexandrov
Media manager Andrey Alexandrov and his partner Irina Zlobina were detained on 12 January 2021 on suspicion of financing protest activity. They were accused of paying the fines of people detained at protests and compensating the cost of their detention in the offenders' isolation centre (TsIP) and detention centres. They married while in custody.
The court sentenced Irina to 9 years in prison and Andrey to 14 years in prison.
8. Volha, Vitali, Vladislav and Anastasiya Vaitsiakhovich
The whole family was detained on 13 August 2021. They were accused of preparing an attack on Aleh Haidukevich's house. At the time the security forces reported that they had detained everyone involved. The whole family remains in custody to this day. Volha and Vitali are husband and wife. Anastasiya is the wife of their son Vladislav. All of them are in a SIZO.
They were detained for painting more than 80 bales of haylage in a field. As a result, Andrey was sentenced to 1 year in prison, and Ekaterina to 1.5 years of restricted freedom. The family has three minor children. On 20 May 2022 Andrey was released after serving his sentence.
Maria is the wife of the owner of the bar «Banki-Butylki», on whose terrace the Minsk singer Meryem Herasimenka gave a street concert on 3 August 2022. Maria's husband Andrey was detained the day after the concert, and on 5 August it became known that he had been given 30 days of arrest. Since then the couple have not been released. They have two underage daughters.
11. Anastasia Rudakova and Valery Vishchenya
For taking part in protests, Valery was sentenced to 3 years of “khimiya” (restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility), and Anastasia to 3 years of “home khimiya”. For health reasons Valery was transferred to “home khimiya”. The family has three minor children.
12. Victoria Zhdanovich and Roman Bagriy
The couple were detained for taking part in protests. They are still under investigation in a SIZO.
13. Dzmitry Luksha and Palina Palavinka
Dzmitry was detained on 11 March 2022, and his wife on 2 June. Dzmitry is accused of creating a video report that “discredits” the Republic of Belarus. Both spouses are also accused of taking part in protests.
14. Elena and Dmitry Pavlovich
Elena owns the «Lisa» print shop in Barysau. During her arrest she was forced to tear white-red-white wallpaper off the walls. They filmed the process, and the video was published in pro-government Telegram channels on 26 July 2022. The security forces objected not only to the interior decoration but also to a sign at the entrance reading: «Private property. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the sanitary service, the KGB, the Armed Forces, BRIK and other state organisations may enter only after calling». Elena was first placed in a temporary detention centre (IVS) and then transferred to SIZO-1. Her husband was detained together with her.
Dmitry was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison, and Elena to 2 years in prison for taking part in protests. The family has two children.
15. Anastasia and Dmitry Dashkevich
Dmitry Dashkevich is one of the best-known political figures in Belarus. He has been involved in civic activity since 2001. He was the leader of the «Young Front» and has served several long sentences for political activity in Belarus. Dashkevich is also one of the organisers of the «Night of Executed Poets» and the «Defence of Kurapaty» campaigns.
Nasta and her husband Dmitry were accused of taking part in a protest on 23 August 2020. A month before the trial Nasta gave birth to their fourth child.
Dmitry was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison, and Nasta to 3 years of “home khimiya”.
16. Anzhelika and Evgeniy Ermak
The couple were detained on 16 June 2022 for taking part in protests. They remain in custody to this day.
17. Tatyana and Alexander Birulya
The couple were detained on 13 December 2021 for distributing protest newspapers. The court hearings are now under way. All the defendants face long sentences.
18. Natalya Ked and Igor Kozlov
Igor is an employee of the "Babruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units". He was detained for sabotaging the railway near stations in Babruisk and for setting fire to the shooting range of military unit 5527. He was detained on 26 September 2021. His wife was detained on 18 March 2022.
As a result, Igor was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and Natalya to 2 years of “home khimiya” and was released in the courtroom.
19. Svetlana and Denis Sheremetiev
The couple were arrested on 16 June 2022. Svetlana was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison, and Denis to 2 years in prison.
20. Ekaterina Evdokimova and Anton Maslyko
The couple were convicted of taking part in protests. Ekaterina was sentenced to 3 years of “home khimiya”, and Anton to 1.5 years in prison. The family has three children.
21. Polina and Stanislav Kabeshev
The couple were detained on 5 May 2022 for taking part in protests. On 5 September they were sentenced to 3 years of “home khimiya” and released from custody.
Igor is a journalist and a consultant for "Radio Liberty". He was the administrator of the Telegram channel "Belarus of the Brain". He was detained on 25 June 2020. Following a closed trial, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His wife Daria fought for her husband in various ways and spoke out in his support. On 18 October 2022 Daria was detained and placed in a SIZO over an “interview”. The couple have a child.
23. Tatyana and Andrei Mostyka
On 19 July 2021 the couple were detained on suspicion of “terrorism”. But they were soon released. They managed to leave Belarus.
24. Alexander Lychavko and Snezhana Inanets
The couple were detained on 6 October 2022. Videos appeared on pro-government channels in which they were accused of taking part in protests. Their whereabouts are unknown.
25. Volha and Aliaksandr Padko
The couple were detained on 13 August 2021 on suspicion of involvement in the arson of Aleh Haidukevich's house. On 13 December they were released. Volha was later sentenced to 3 years of “home khimiya” for taking part in protests. Aliaksandr's fate is unknown.
26. Andrey Sharendo and Polina Sharendo-Panasyuk
Polina was detained on 4 January 2021. As a result, she was sentenced to a total of 3 years in prison. Andrey reports that a new criminal case has now been opened against her under Article 411 of the Criminal Code. Andrey himself managed to leave Belarus before he could be detained. The family has two children.
The couple were convicted of “defamation” and “insult”. Petr was sentenced to 3 years of restricted freedom, and Irina to 2 years of “home khimiya”. The family has two children.
28. Anastasiia and Aleh Famin
On 15 August 2020, as a police officer was leaving his father's birthday celebration, Aleh Famin approached him, called him a fascist, thereby insulting him, and threatened him with violence. A quarrel followed and eventually a fight. At some point Anastasiia Famina, Aleh's wife, joined the fight.
Aleh was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, and Anastasiia to 1.5 years of “home khimiya”.
29. Anastasiia Krupenich-Kandratsyeva and Siarhei Krupenich
The couple were detained on 15 July 2021 for forwarding news from Telegram channels to each other. In total, each of them received 126 days of administrative arrest. In the end they left Belarus.
Igor was a volunteer at Viktar Babaryka's campaign headquarters. According to his parents, he was beaten during his arrest and was in a military hospital until 18 August 2020. The court sentenced Igor to 5 years in prison.
Svetlana, Igor's mother, was convicted over a comment she allegedly left on Facebook under a photo of a police senior sergeant. Svetlana says she never left any such comment. Svetlana is retired and cares for her sick mother. She was sentenced to 2 years of "home khimiya" .
Mother and son were detained in the Autukhovich case. All the defendants were detained in December-January 2020. The authorities immediately declared Autukhovich the organiser and leader of a "terrorist group" that operated in Hrodna Region and allegedly set fire to cars and houses of police officers. Depending on their roles, they were charged under a total of 15 articles of the Criminal Code, and the case file ran to 65 volumes. The prosecution also claimed that Autukhovich had been preparing terrorist attacks and gathering information on security officers on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services.
Irina was sentenced to 7 years in prison, and Anton to 2.5 years in prison (released in the courtroom).
32. Elena and Viktoria Lyskovich
The mother and daughter were convicted over the events in Brest. In the "round dance case" they were sentenced to 1.5 years of restricted freedom. Viktoria successfully left Belarus.
33. Alexander and Natallia Raentov
According to the police reports, on 29 August 2020 the Raentovs took part in an unauthorised rally and «gave directions with gestures and coordinated the further actions of the rally participants». When riot police (OMON) began pushing back the demonstrators, the Raentovs ran onto a trolleybus and rode one stop. Then «people in black» ran in and, without identifying themselves, began dragging the Raentovs out. According to Natallia Raentava, she was frightened and so held on to the handrail.
Alexander Raentov was also convicted of administering the "Poligon" chat. As a result, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and Natallia to 8 months in prison.
34. Diana and Valentin Mitskevich
Diana was detained on 12 July 2022 for taking part in protests. Two months later her husband was detained. The couple are in a SIZO.
The anti-fascist brothers, former fans of MTZ-RIPO, were convicted of taking part in protests. Timur was sentenced to 6 years, 3 months and 2 days in prison, and Tamaz to 5 years in prison.
36. Viktoria and Anastasia Mirontseva
The sisters were convicted of taking part in protests. Viktoria was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, and Anastasia to 2 years in prison. Five riot police officers were listed as victims in the case.
37. Vitali and Daniil Kalesnikau
On the night of 9-10 August 2020, Daniil and his father Vitali Kalesnikau went to the square in the city centre. They stood there together, arms linked in a human chain, in the front row. Vitali was sentenced to 2 years, 3 months and 28 days in prison, and Daniil to 1 year and 3 months in a juvenile correctional colony.
38. Vitaly and Egor Prokopchuk
The father and son were detained over the events in Brest in 2020 and sentenced to 4 years in prison each.
The father and son from Babruisk were detained on 10 August 2020. That day the Bukas family was heading to a shop but stopped about a hundred metres short of it, because the road had been cordoned off due to a protest. Not far from where the Bukases parked their car, they noticed another car and a traffic police car. Next to these cars a woman was asking for the driver to be released. The elder Bukas decided to find out what was going on and approached the traffic police officer. As a result, he and his son were forcibly detained. Oleg was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and Igor to 4 years in prison.
40. Elena and Anatoly Latushka
Anatoly was detained on 31 January 2022 for stencilling the «Pahonia» coat of arms. Anatoly Latushka is a cousin of the politician Pavel Latushka. As a result, he was sentenced to 6 years in prison. In August Elena Latushka was detained and sentenced for taking part in protests to 2.5 years of "home khimiya".
Kim is an activist and a member of the Council of the civic movement “Dzeya”. He was detained on 3 November 2020, allegedly for hacking the computer system of the Minsk City Executive Committee. He was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison. He has a small child.
Alexey was detained 2 days later. As a result, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
42. Santa Franchuk and Vladimir Dalshov
She was detained on 27 February 2022 in Pershamaiski District for photographing her ballot. She served 15 days in Zhodzina, after which she was not released but transferred to Akrestsina, because photos from the 2020 rallies were found on her phone. Vladimir went to meet Santa but did not return. The couple were transferred to a SIZO.
The couple were sentenced to 3 years of "home khimiya".
43. Tatyana and Dmitry Kanevsky
Tatyana is an activist of the "Mothers 328" movement and was an authorised representative of presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Homel. On the evening of 6 August 2020 Tatyana Kanevskaya's home was searched, and in the morning the security forces came to Kanevskaya's home for a second search. The woman was detained. She was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Her son Dmitry was detained over comments on social media and sentenced to 3 years in prison.
44. Anastasia Malashuk and Alexey Kedysh
The couple were detained and sent to a SIZO for taking part in protests. Five months later they were sentenced to 3 years of "home khimiya".
45. Darya and Aliaksei Arbuzau
The couple were convicted of taking part in protests. Darya received 2 years of "home khimiya", while Aliaksei was sent to a penal colony for 1.5 years. The family has two children.
46. Aliaksei and Sviatlana Yakimovich
The couple were convicted in the well-known "round dance case". Aliaksei was sentenced to 2 years of restricted freedom, and Sviatlana to 2 years of "home khimiya".
47. Tatstsiana and Aliaksandr Pauliuchyk
The couple were convicted in the well-known "round dance case". The court's verdict was 1 year of "home khimiya" each.
48. Vladimir and Katsiaryna Goncharov
The couple were convicted in the "round dance case". Katsiaryna was sentenced to 2 years of "home khimiya". Vladimir was convicted twice, and his combined sentence came to 2 years in prison.
49. Tatyana and Alexey Biryukov
The couple were convicted in the well-known "round dance case". The court's decision was 2 years of "home khimiya" each.
50. Elena and Andrey Barmut, Olga Rabukh
The evidence of their guilt was forwarding photos from the marches to family members and correspondence about it on social media. Each of them received 3 years of "home khimiya".
51. Andrey and Sergey Klyutchenya
The brothers were convicted of taking part in protests. Andrey and Sergey each received 2 years in prison.
52. Aliaksei and Aliaksandr Rusetski
The brothers were convicted of taking part in a human chain and in protests. Aliaksei was sentenced to 3 years of restricted freedom, and Aliaksandr to 2.5 years of restricted freedom.
53. Sviatlana Baranouskaia and Anastasiia Arheryskul
On 7 October 2021 a verdict was announced against Sviatlana Baranouskaia, who had been charged with insulting representatives of the authorities — nine female OMON officers. But on 14 December 2021 she was detained again, together with her daughter, for taking part in protests. The women were sent to a SIZO. Following the trial, Sviatlana was sentenced to 3 years of "home khimiya", and Anastasiia to 2 years of "home khimiya".
54. Galina and Ala Haratskevich
The daughter and mother were detained over the events in Hrodna. Ala was sentenced to 2.5 years of "home khimiya", and Galina to 3 years of restricted freedom.
55. Ekaterina Zaretskaya and Vyacheslav Pantyushenko
The couple were detained for hanging a white-red-white flag and a Ukrainian flag on a 19-storey building on Lesi Ukrainky Street. They are now in a SIZO.
56. Alla and Vasily Romanenko, Alexandra Antonenko
Alla, together with her husband and niece, was found guilty of taking part in three Marches. Alla and Vasily were sentenced to 3 years of "home khimiya", and Alexandra to 2 years of "home khimiya".
57. Viktar and Eduard Babaryka
Viktar is a Belarusian banker, public figure and would-be presidential candidate. He was detained together with his son while on his way to the Central Election Commission. The court sentenced Viktar to 14 years in prison. His son Eduard is still in a SIZO without a final indictment.
58. Maryia Uspenskaia and Andrei Zeltser
On 28 September 2021 KGB officers carried out searches and raids on residents in Minsk. The occupant of one of the flats, later identified as EPAM Systems employee Andrei Zeltser, refused to open the door to the security officers (who were wearing civilian clothes and had no service insignia) and barricaded himself inside with his wife, armed with a hunting rifle. Both of them were filming at the time.
After the door was broken down, Zeltser opened fire with the hunting rifle on the KGB officers who burst into the flat. A KGB officer with the call sign «Nirvana», later identified as Dmitry Fedosyuk, was wounded. He died of his wounds in hospital the same day. Andrei Zeltser was killed by return fire.
Maryia Uspenskaia was detained on suspicion of joint involvement in the murder of the KGB officer. Maryia was held in a SIZO; according to numerous reports, she was subjected to punitive psychiatry, including at the "Navinki" hospital. In the end she was declared a person who had committed a dangerous act and sent for compulsory treatment.
Many people who had left comments on social media were arrested in the "Zeltser case".
