Valeria is a political scientist, founder and editor of the website of the expert community "Our Opinion," author and editor of the "Belarusian Yearbook," and head of the expert monitoring group "Belarus in Focus."
On June 30, 2021, following a search of her home by KGB officers, Valeria was detained and placed in a detention center, later transferred to a pretrial detention center.
On February 6, 2023, the court began hearing her case on charges of "aiding and abetting actions aimed at seizing power," "calling for actions harmful to national security," and "inciting social discord." On March 17, 2023, the court, behind closed doors, sentenced Valeria to 10 years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.
She was released on March 20, 2026, as part of a pardon following another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole.
