Political prisoners

Igor was first convicted for unfurling a banner reading, "While there is lawlessness in the country, resistance is our duty," blocking traffic. He was given a large fine.

Later, he was convicted again for insulting the authorities through a comment in the chat "Molodechno for Life" and was assigned a preventive measure in the form of "house arrest". Igor has a disability, as he is missing one leg.

At the end of 2024, it became known that Igor had been detained again and placed in custody. In July 2025, he was convicted under the article "Assistance to extremist activity", sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.

Valeria is a political scientist, founder and editor of the website of the expert community "Our Opinion", author and editor of the "Belarusian Yearbook", head of the group of experts for monitoring "Belarus in Focus".

On June 30, 2021, after a search of her home by KGB officers, Valeria was detained and placed in an isolation ward, later transferred to a pre-trial detention center.

On February 6, 2023, the court began considering her case on charges of "aiding actions aimed at seizing power," "calling for actions that harm national security," and "inciting social hatred." On March 17, 2023, the court sentenced Valeria in a closed session to 10 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.

Sergei, the former head of the department of the RUE "Minsk City Agency for State Registration and Land Cadastre", was arrested in June 2021 in a case of posting personal data of employees of the Smorgon District Department of Internal Affairs on a Telegram channel. According to the prosecution, from autumn 2020 to February 2021, he transferred personal data of more than ten employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and government officials to the administrators of Telegram channels.

In August 2022, Sergei was found guilty of several criminal charges, including “abuse of power or official authority,” and sentenced to imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative duties for a period of 5 years.

Stanislav, an activist from Gomel, was detained on May 28, 2021, after security forces conducted a search in his apartment, where he lived with his parents. Prior to this, he had served three administrative arrests under Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus for participating in protests.

Stanislav was convicted under two criminal articles for participating in a chain at the Solidarity March, which took place on September 20, 2020 in Gomel. He refused to sign a petition for pardon and defended his rights even in difficult prison conditions, despite health problems. He was left without care for his underage daughter and elderly parents, his father is disabled.

He was released in December 2023, having fully served his sentence.

In December 2024, it became known that Stanislav was again detained in a new criminal case.

Egor, a Russian citizen, was detained on May 4, 2021, by GUBOPiK officers in a rented apartment after a search and was brutally beaten. He was held in pretrial detention for seven months on charges of "organizing actions that grossly violate public order" - for voicing videos and audio messages on the "OGSB" Telegram channel. However, in December of the same year, he was convicted under the articles "inciting hatred or discord" and "calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus", and sentenced to the maximum possible prison term.

In June 2022, the conditions of detention were tightened, and Yegor was transferred to prison regime.

Alexander was arrested in January 2021 in connection with the mass riots case and convicted on charges of participating in Telegram channels of a “radical orientation,” as well as intending to damage or destroy three Tabakerka kiosks.

Lyudmila is the former CEO of TUT.BY. She worked at TUT.BY since 2008: first as a legal adviser, later as a director. In 2017, she headed Tut By Media.

In May 2021, she was arrested in connection with a criminal case opened on charges of tax evasion.

In October 2022, the KGB added Lyudmila to a list of those “involved in terrorist activities.” She was later also charged with “inciting hatred” and “calling for actions against national security.”

The trial was held behind closed doors and lasted more than two months - 37 sessions in total. In March 2023, Lyudmila was sentenced to a long prison term and a large fine.

Andrey, a maxillofacial surgeon at a children's hospital, was detained in May 2021 after a search as part of a criminal case opened under the article on "insulting the president." His wife and children were forced to leave the country. Andrey was later charged with "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order" and "participation in mass riots."

In April 2022, Andrei was convicted on four criminal charges for participating in protests that took place in Minsk in 2020 and for publications on social networks that were classified as insults and incitement of hatred.

In June 2024, his sentence was increased and he was transferred to prison until the end of his term.

Vladislav, a blogger, poet and writer, was arrested in April 2021 and convicted a year later of fraud for promising more than 100 people in 2015–2016 to take part in Belarus’s first reality shows, but failing to keep his promise. He was also found guilty of participating in three Marches in 2020 and organizing protests via Instagram. Vladislav himself only admitted to participating in the rallies.

In October 2022, he was convicted again for insulting Lukashenko in a poem included in an appeal against the verdict.

On the portal of the online store Ridero.ru, under the pseudonym Vlad Savinn, his books are presented - the story "Ambidextrous" and the collection of poems "Poetry Through", available in printed and electronic form.

Sergei, an assistant to the head of one of the capital's organizations, was detained in September 2020 at his home for participating in a protest against the falsification of the presidential elections and violence against peaceful citizens, which took place on August 11, 2020 in Minsk. He was convicted of "participation in mass riots" and also under an article related to drugs.

Sergei was convicted of participating in "mass riots" in a criminal case initiated due to protests and clashes between Pinsk residents and security forces on the night of August 9-10, 2020. The victims in the case were 109 police officers and officials, who, in addition to imprisonment for the accused, demanded about 530 thousand rubles in compensation.

In November 2024, Sergei's punishment was increased and he was transferred to prison.

Denis, a special communications officer for the General Staff of the Armed Forces, was detained in March 2021 and convicted for, according to pro-government media, photographing a secret letter from the Minister of Internal Affairs to the Minister of Defense and “passing it on to a Polish Telegram channel.”

The trial was held behind closed doors, and the verdict was not subject to appeal or review. In addition to a long prison term, Denis was also stripped of his military rank.

In August 2022, his punishment was increased and he was transferred to prison.

Yevgeny, a former investigator for the Investigative Committee and the initiator of the bychange.me project, was first detained on the evening of November 24, 2020, in Minsk as part of a criminal case initiated under the article “organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them.” He was released 10 days later, but in April 2021, he was arrested again and later convicted under six criminal articles, including for “organizing mass riots” in 2020, “inciting other social hatred” in interviews and texts on social networks, as well as for “threatening violence” against the head of the temporary detention facility on Okrestina via tweet.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, Evgeny was "an active participant in the Telegram chat "KHATA", whose activities are aimed at organizing crimes of an extremist nature." The trial was held behind closed doors, and Evgeny signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding the case materials.

Alexander was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place in Pinsk on the night of August 9-10, 2020 against falsifications in the presidential elections. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."

Ilya was convicted of attempting to set fire to the Zhodino prosecutor's office building in October 2020. According to investigators, he set fire to a manufactured device on the porch to express disdain for law enforcement. As a result of the scattering of a mixture of petroleum products and bottle fragments, the front door and canopy were damaged, causing damages of more than 1,500 rubles.