Alexander, a homeless man from Minsk, was arrested about ten times in 2021 for "unauthorized picketing." The charges were for posters, which typically depicted the BSSR flag and contained requests for assistance. In one instance, he was detained for a white-red-white poster with the text: "I want to thank my children, I want to thank my youth, and I want to be the first to love. I want to forget the camp and live the People's Republic of Belarus."
According to reports, he spent at least 130 days of administrative arrest at Okrestina. Most often, Alexander was detained near the Kamennaya Gorka metro station, where he spent time holding laminated signs and collecting funds for his living. He could sometimes be seen with small animals. In total, he is known to have spent approximately 22 years in prison.
On December 1, 2021, he was detained in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "repeated violation of the procedure for holding mass events" and placed in pretrial detention.
In March 2022, Alexander was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
He was released in September 2022, having fully served his sentence.
