An anarchist activist was detained while crossing the Belarusian border on the night of October 28-29, 2020, and charged with "arson" and "terrorism." He had previously served a five-year sentence under Article 295-3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus and was released in 2019.
On October 29, 2021, in Gomel, Sergei was sentenced to one year in prison for "violating the terms of supervision" under a previous political article. In March 2023 and September 2024, he was convicted twice of "malicious disobedience to the demands of the penal colony administration." This article is used to try prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration for fictitious violations. As a result, his total prison term was 22 years and 11 months.
In the fall of 2025, it became known that Sergei Romanov had recently been hospitalized for surgery. The operation was planned and went without complications. He was soon to be transferred back to the penal colony.
