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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.
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Vladislav, the lead singer of the band Gods Tower, was convicted in June 2021 for a comment left under a video in which the chairman of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee Gennady Solovey communicates with people. He was sentenced to restriction of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility. It was later reported that Vladislav left Belarus.
In March 2024, a new criminal case was opened against him under the articles "Incitement of hatred or discord" and "Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it" as part of a special proceeding. In June of the same year, he was convicted in absentia for participating in an "extremist formation" - "Rudobelskaya show-off". Vladislav was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment and a fine of 500 basic units.
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Elena is a journalist. She started working at TUT.BY in 2014. At first, she worked in the Construction and Real Estate section, and after a few years, she moved to the Money and Power section.
She was detained on May 18, 2021, as part of a criminal case against TUT.BY for tax evasion on an especially large scale. In July 2022, Elena was released from pretrial detention on a non-disclosure agreement and surety, but the charges were not dropped. In the fall of the same year, the KGB added her to the list of "those involved in terrorism."
Elena did not appear at the TUT.BY trial, which began in January 2023 behind closed doors — by that time she had already left the country. In April of the same year, the Minsk City Court summoned deputy Valery Voronetsky and political scientist Yevgeny Preygerman, who vouched for Elena — they were fined 18.5 thousand Belarusian rubles each.
In February 2025, court hearings began on the criminal case within the framework of special proceedings under four articles - the outcome is unknown.
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Olga is the former editor-in-chief of the political and economic block TUT.BY, graduated from BSU, BGEU and Oxford, and hosted the program “Economics on the Fingers” with Sergei Chaly.
On May 18, 2021, she was detained in a criminal case on tax evasion by TUT.BY. She was later charged with "inciting social hatred" and "calls for sanctions." In March 2022, she was released from pretrial detention on bail and recognizance, but the charges were not dropped. In the fall of that year, the KGB added her to the list of "those involved in terrorism."
Olga did not appear at the TUT.BY trial, which began in January 2023 behind closed doors — by that time, she had already left the country. In April of the same year, the Minsk City Court summoned the head of the Republican Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Alexander Shvets in connection with his surety for Olga — he was fined 18.5 thousand Belarusian rubles.
In February 2025, court hearings began on the criminal case within the framework of special proceedings under four articles - the outcome is unknown.
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Marina has been the editor-in-chief of TUT.BY since 2004 and is known for her interest in Balkan culture and her knowledge of the Bulgarian language.
In 2019, she was fined in a criminal case under the article "inaction of an official" for accessing BelTA materials; human rights activists deemed the case politically motivated.
In May 2021, she was arrested on charges of tax evasion, but the charge was later dropped.
In October 2022, the KGB added Marina to its list of persons "involved in terrorist activity." She was later also charged with "inciting hatred" and "calls for actions against national security."
The trial was held behind closed doors and lasted more than two months, with 37 hearings in total. In March 2023, she was sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
On December 13, 2025, she was released after another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Ukraine.
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Andrei, the son of a priest from Grodno, was detained on May 4, 2021. He was accused of insulting district police officer Maxim Chertkov in a comment on the Telegram channel "Grodno 97%" and threatening to use violence against a police officer. Experts noted that Andrei's statements contained negative assessments, but there were no signs of threats. Despite this, the case was first reclassified as a "terrorist article", and then as "incitement of hatred". Even after a second examination, which confirmed the absence of threats, Andrei was still convicted.
He was released in June 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
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Andrei, a maxillofacial surgeon at a children's hospital, was detained in May 2021 following a search as part of a criminal case opened under the law on "insulting the president." His wife and children were forced to leave the country. Andrei was later charged with "participating in group actions grossly violating public order" and "participating in mass riots."
In April 2022, Andrei was convicted on four criminal charges for participating in protests that took place in Minsk in 2020 and for social media posts that were classified as insults and incitement to hatred.
In June 2024, his sentence was increased and he was transferred to prison for the rest of his sentence.
In August 2026, he was released , having served his full sentence.
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Evgeny was detained in the courtroom as part of a criminal case brought against members of the "Army with the People" Telegram channel and convicted of "preparing to participate in mass riots."
In September 2025, he was released, having served his full sentence.
He was released in September 2025, having served his full sentence.
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Youras, a politician and lawyer, was arrested on April 12, 2021, in a criminal case opened under the article "conspiracy or other actions committed with the aim of seizing state power." In September 2022, he was sentenced to a long prison term on several criminal charges, despite the fact that he fully admitted his guilt and entered into an agreement with the investigation.
In December 2022, he was convicted again for “insulting a government official.” According to the state-run newspaper Minska Pravda, in 2020–2021, he allegedly repeatedly left offensive comments on a Telegram channel recognized as extremist.
In June 2023, Yourasya's sentence was increased, and he was transferred to prison regime. In August 2024, he was convicted of "malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration" - an article under which prisoners are tried for refusing to cooperate or for fictitious violations. As a result, taking into account all the court's decisions, his total term of imprisonment was 13 years and 3 months.
Youras was under constant pressure: he was repeatedly sent to solitary confinement, deprived of parcels and the opportunity to shop. In protest, he went on hunger strike several times. It is also known that he has serious health problems.
He was released in April 2025.
Konstantin was convicted under the article on “inciting hatred or discord” for a comment left on the Internet.
He was released in June 2023, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
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Andrei is a Grodno-based journalist, publicist, and member of the Union of Poles in Belarus. In 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison with a two-year suspended sentence for slandering Lukashenko. He was released in court on his own recognizance. In 2012, a new criminal case was opened against him for media publications, but in 2013 it was dismissed due to lack of evidence. In the fall of that year, he was released from the first case.
On March 25, 2021, Andrei was arrested again. He was charged with inciting hatred and calling for sanctions. The charges included articles about the 2020 Belarusian protests, the defense of the Polish minority, and publications about the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. He spent over 1.5 years in pretrial detention and was convicted in February 2023.
It is known that Andrei refused to submit a petition for pardon. He continues to be subjected to pressure and is deprived of visits and parcels. He has also received no phone calls.
On April 28, 2026, Andrzej Poczobut was released following lengthy negotiations and an exchange for Belarusian spies in Poland. He was immediately transported to Poland.
Sergei was detained on August 30, 2020, in Minsk during a Sunday protest. His arrest followed a clash between police and protesters who were trying to prevent the detention of one of the protesters. He was later convicted of "violence against an officer of the internal affairs bodies."
In January 2024, he was transferred to another colony, most likely to IK-2.
According to human rights activists , he will be released in the summer of 2025.
Alexey was arrested and convicted of weapons possession and allegedly preparing to commit mass riots with their use. In an interview, he stated that he only pleaded guilty to weapons possession and did not understand why the trial was held behind closed doors. Alexey called the charge of preparing to commit riots a "witch hunt."
At the end of December 2021, it became known that Alexei's punishment had been increased and he had been transferred to a prison regime.
In the winter of 2024, a political prisoner was tried on a new criminal charge of "malicious disobedience to the demands of the prison administration." This article is used to try prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration for fictitious violations.
On March 19, 2026, he was released after another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Lithuania.
Tikhon was detained in connection with a criminal case related to the events of September 6, 2020, during the "March of Unity" in Minsk, and convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order."
He was released in March 2022, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
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Denis was arrested on August 8, 2020 and convicted in the so-called "Korelichi case" related to alleged unrest in Korelichi and Novogrudok following the presidential elections.
He was released in October 2021, having fully served his sentence as imposed by the court.