Daniil Polyansky is a Brest journalist. In early September, Polyansky went to Russia to visit relatives. On the way, there was an incident with Russian security forces. His car was stopped by FSB officers and he was accused of an administrative violation for disobedience - allegedly he refused to show documents.
"Danil said that at that time his passport was in the hands of a Russian security officer," says one of Polyansky's acquaintances. "Later, when he returned to Brest, he was detained by KGB officers."
Initially it was assumed that he was detained for some administrative violation. But it became known that a criminal case had been opened.
Danil Polyansky is 53 years old. As a videographer, he once collaborated with state and commercial TV channels, as well as with independent regional sites. In recent years, he was known in Brest as a volunteer for the search and rescue squad "Angel".
Nakanishi Masatoshi is a citizen of Japan. On September 4, 2024, it became known that he was detained in Belarus. He was detained back in July 2024, but the details of his persecution were only revealed now in a BT story. Nakanishi is being held in a KGB pretrial detention center on charges of "intelligence activities" (Article 358-1 of the Criminal Code). The Japanese citizen faces up to seven years in prison in Belarus.
Immediately after the story aired on BT, Tokyo lodged a protest with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that the content of the program violated human rights.
According to the court, the essence of the charge against everyone was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.
In addition to her previous conviction under Article 328, she received 11 years in prison and a fine.
Trial outcome 25.10.2024: 1 year 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
According to the court, the essence of the charge was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order. The man said in the video about his arrest that he was a professional chess player, one of the top 30 chess players in Belarus.
Trial outcome 25.10.2024: 1 year 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
According to the court, the essence of the charge was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.
Trial outcome 25.10.2024: 1 year 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
According to the court, the essence of the charge was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.
Trial outcome 25.10.2024: 1 year 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Dmitry Bulanov is 32 years old. He is from Brest and has been playing chess all his life. He currently ranks 28th among all Belarusian players and has the title of FIDE Master.
In 2020, Dmitry and his colleagues created the Free Chess Players of Belarus group and began performing under the white-red-white flag. Together with the team, which includes some of the strongest Belarusian chess players, they won the Chess Bundesliga twice.
In July 2023, Dmitry was detained by the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. He is accused of participating in protests, registering in the Peramoga plan, and sending extremist materials (but security forces often force people to incriminate themselves on camera). The man was released after three days in the temporary detention facility on his own recognizance.
Trial outcome 25.10.2024: 1 year 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Trial outcome 31.10.2024: 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Trial outcome 31.10.2024: 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
A famous basketball referee, he was arrested for creating a basketball chat.
He was detained in January 2024 when he was 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 spent a day in jail). And the chat participants were summoned for questioning.
Alexander Syritsa has been one of the best basketball referees in Belarus for many years. A FIBA referee since 2005. In 2019, together with his colleagues, Syritsa filed a lawsuit against the basketball federation, lost and was blacklisted. He lived in Australia, did business, and often visited Ukraine.
On January 16, the KGB recognized the "Fund of Belarus Friend LTD" as an "extremist organization" - at that time it was reported that Belarusian citizen Alexander Syritsa was related to it.
According to the court, the essence of the charge against everyone was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.
Trial outcome 09.10.2024: 1 year of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 26.11.2024: unknown.
According to the court, the essence of the charge against everyone was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.
Trial outcome 09.10.2024: 1 year of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 26.11.2024: unknown.
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