Former political prisonersPardoned

Valentin Ivanovich Tolkach

Dissidentby since
Viasna since

Valentin graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Belarusian State University, where he studied commercial law, and then received a master's degree from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, specializing in Intellectual Property and New Technologies.

He began his career at the National Intellectual Property Center, where he represented the organization's interests in the Supreme Court. He later worked as a lawyer at the IT company Brightum, providing legal support for fintech projects and cryptocurrency startups.

After some time, Valentin decided to radically change his career . In his profile, he wrote that he had been a gamer for over 20 years and decided to turn his hobby into a career.

On March 19, 2026, he was pardoned after another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole (among a group of 235 prisoners left in Belarus).

Sentences

Trial outcome 10.10.2025
3 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions.
Appeal date unknown
unknown.

Involved in repression

Ivan Leonidovich Ignatenko
Ivan Leonidovich Ignatenko
Overseers25 april 1984
Place:
IK-15
Type:
Head of the correctional facility
More
Alesya Petrovna Brinevets
Alesya Petrovna Brinevets
Overseers22 january 1980
Place:
IK-15
Type:
Correctional officer
More
Ilya Nikolaevich Kislyakov
Ilya Nikolaevich Kislyakov
Overseers25 december 1994
Place:
IK-15
Type:
Correctional officer
More
Artem Viktorovich Veselov
Artem Viktorovich Veselov
OverseersOthers7 august 1984
Place:
IK-15
Type:
Correctional officer
More
Denis Aleksandrovich Kovalev
Denis Aleksandrovich Kovalev
Overseers18 october 2026
Place:
IK-15
Type:
Correctional officer
More
Andrey Mikhailovich Cedric
Andrey Mikhailovich Cedric
Overseers20 april 1978
Place:
SIZO-1 Kolyadichi
Type:
Head of the correctional facility
More
Eugene Sergeevich Hitrik
Eugene Sergeevich Hitrik
Overseers16 november 1982
Place:
SIZO-1 Kolyadichi
Type:
Head of the correctional facility
More
Valentin Ivanovich Tolkach
In custody:
Case categories:
The Gayun Case
Hometown:
Minsk
Birthday:
19.07.1996
Was held in:
IK №15, 212013, Mogilev, p/o Veyno, Slavgorodskoye shosse 183
Articles:
Marks:

Timeline

  1. 2025
  2. ~08.04.2025

    Transfer

    SIZO-1 Kolyadichi — In custody

  3. 10.10.2025

    Trial outcome 10.10.2025

    3 years of imprisonment in colony under enhanced security conditions, Minsk City Court

  4. 05.11.2025

    Transfer

    Turma №4 — In custody

  5. ~17.12.2025

    Appeal date unknown

    unknown

  6. 2026
  7. 09.01.2026

    Transfer

    IK-15 — In custody