Political prisoners

Violeta graduated from school in Minsk and entered the Warsaw Academy of Arts. The girl is interested in photography and loves traveling.

Three years ago she got married and changed her last name. The couple became famous because the guy, former football player Fedor Verbitsky, proposed to the girl right at the stadium after the end of the game.

The criminal case was prompted by a video the family made in the summer of 2020 calling for an end to violence. Father Gennady testified in court that one day in the summer of 2020, emotionally affected by the data he saw online about the violence used by the officers against protesters, he decided to record a video addressing the officers calling for a justified use of force. He came up with the text of the speech and then asked his daughter to read it. He also asked his wife to speak out about the elections. On the same day, he expressed his wishes for the future of the country on video, and at the end of his speech, he also showed a heart symbol. After that, he found videos on the Internet and edited the video. On the same day, he sent it to several of his friends and relatives.

Irina worked as a sales specialist and then as a manager at Anastan. She was convicted along with her daughter and husband.

The criminal case was prompted by a video the family made in the summer of 2020 calling for an end to violence. Gennady, the husband, testified in court that one day in the summer of 2020, emotionally affected by the data he saw online about the violence used by the officers against protesters, he decided to record a video addressing the officers with a call for a justified use of force. He came up with the text of the speech and then asked his daughter to read it. He also asked his wife to speak out about the elections. On the same day, he expressed his wishes for the future of the country on video, and at the end of his speech, he also showed a heart symbol. After that, he found videos on the Internet and edited the video. On the same day, he sent it to several of his friends and relatives.

Victoria from Minsk, graduated from medical college. At first she worked in state clinics, then in the medical center "Sinevo".

A person who knows Svetlana from college said that she was not interested in politics during her student years and was never a public activist. However, the events of 2020 changed the lives of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Belarusians beyond recognition. And Veras was no exception.

It is unknown when Victoria was detained.

Olga Rodionova worked until 2020 at KYKY.org, primarily for the "Pain" section, and also collaborated as a freelancer with Belarusian and foreign media.

During her detention in Pretrial Detention Center No. 1, Olga was sent for a psychiatric examination to the hospital in Novinki. Olga's sick mother , who is over 80 years old , requires constant care .

According to the court, the essence of the charge against everyone was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.

In addition to her previous conviction under Article 328, she received 11 years in prison and a fine.

On September 11, 2023, the State Security Committee reported in a propaganda film that it had detained six people in Belarus on charges of collaborating with the "Security Service of Ukraine" and "preparing terrorist attacks." In the video, some of them appear beaten, some are led around in chains during investigative actions, and one of the detainees was filmed in a KGB pretrial detention center. As a result, three people, including Valentina, were charged under six articles of the Criminal Code at once, including "Treason" and "agent activity."

Valentina, according to pro-government media, together with Nikolai Losovsky, was picking up a package containing weapons and explosives, which had to be buried in the Mozyr district. They did not manage to complete the task, as they were detained.

Elena Toporkova is 54 years old. She graduated from the Belarusian State Polytechnical Academy (now BNTU).

Elena was likely detained during a raid on those in solidarity with political prisoners that took place at the end of January 2024.

People caught in the raid on those in solidarity with political prisoners, which took place from January 23 to 24, say that the number of those who were subject to criminal cases may be much higher than human rights activists know. Completely non-public people simply made transfers or sent parcels to political prisoners from their own funds.

She was detained for helping political prisoners on January 23, 2024, after which Elena was released, but was detained again in April of the same year and placed in a pre-trial detention center.

Natalia Zhigar's case is allegedly related to her support for people held in pretrial detention. Before retirement, she worked in the Brest Court office.

Before the trial, the woman was under house arrest.

The case was heard in the Grodno Regional Court. It was initially sent back for revision .

Judge Valery Romanovsky began hearing Natalia's case on August 19, 2024, and hearings continued on September 20, 24, and 30.

On December 27, 2024, the Supreme Court heard Natalia's appeal.

Sandalyuk Angela, together with her husband, was convicted in the Oktyabrsky District Court of Minsk under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them). On August 6, 2024, the case was heard by Judge Zhivitsa Elena.

On October 11, 2024, the Minsk City Court considered the appeal. Chairman of the Judicial Collegium Rudenko Alexander Anatolyevich.

On November 27, 2024, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Minsk considered a new case against a married couple under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them). This time, Dmitry Karsyuk was appointed to judge.

On February 7, 2025, the Minsk City Court considered the appeal. The chairperson of the judicial panel was Anastasia Pavlovna Popko.

Alina was convicted in July 2024 under the articles "participation in an armed group or armed conflict on the territory of a foreign state" and "financing the activities of an extremist group."

Human rights activists are unaware of the sentence or the nature of the charges, but in Belarus, the first article is typically used for prosecution for supporting Ukraine in the war. For such a donation, she could have been sentenced to five to ten years in a penal colony.

Alesya was detained for providing financial assistance to political prisoners.

In 1992 , she graduated from the Belarusian State Medical University with a degree in General Medicine. At first, she worked as a doctor in various hospitals, and in 2003, she completed her studies to become a pediatrician. In 2006, she also completed her studies to become a dermatologist and cosmetologist. She has the first qualification category. In recent cities, she worked in private medical centers "Sedmoe Nebo", "Mark Estetik" and "Medovenyu".

Tatyana Frantskevich and Natalya Lobatsevich were detained on July 19, 2024, when Tatyana was summoned to the Investigative Committee to sign a pledge not to leave the city of Polotsk, and Natalya went with her to support her.

A criminal case was opened against Tatyana Frantskevich, the mother of convicted anarchist Alexander Frantskevich, and her sister Natalia Lobatsevich, the mother of former political prisoner Ilya Lobatsevich, and they were placed in a pretrial detention facility in Vitebsk.