A renowned basketball referee. He was arrested for creating a basketball chat room.
He was detained in January 2024 while returning to Belarus. He is currently in pretrial detention. He is accused of "insulting Lukashenko" and "creating an extremist group" under Articles 361-1 and 368 of the Criminal Code.
Syritsa had previously believed that coming to Belarus was not associated with major risks. His wife was also detained at the border (she served a day in custody). The chat participants were summoned for questioning.
Alexander Syrytsa was one of the top basketball referees in Belarus for many years. He has been a FIBA referee since 2005. In 2019, Syrytsa and his colleagues filed a lawsuit against the basketball federation, lost, and was blacklisted. He lived in Australia, ran a business, and frequently visited Ukraine.
On January 16, the KGB designated the "Fund of Belarus Friend LTD" as an "extremist organization." It was then reported that Belarusian citizen Alexander Syritsa was associated with it.
On December 13, 2025, he was released following a visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Ukraine.
