All persecuted

Alexey was detained on July 1, 2021, in Minsk by officers from the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK). The following day, the court sentenced him to 15 days of administrative arrest, but instead of release, he was transferred to a pretrial detention center. He became a defendant in a criminal case for group actions grossly violating public order.

The case was heard under four articles of the Criminal Code: "organizing mass riots," "creating an extremist group," "inciting social hatred," and "insulting a government official." The trial was held behind closed doors, and the details of the charges are unknown.

In April 2022, the court sentenced Alexey to 11 years in prison. After the trial, pro-government channels published a video claiming that Alexey was the administrator of the Telegram chat "Cascade." A video about him had previously been filmed on TUT.BY.

In July 2023, it became known that he was in pre-trial detention, and on August 11, 2023, he was again found guilty in a new case of “creating an extremist group,” adding another 6 months to his sentence.

Vadim served administrative arrests in August and October 2020. His latest arrest occurred on June 28, 2021, as part of a criminal case related to an incident at a Russian Navy communications facility near Vileika.

According to the prosecution's case presented in court, Vadim and Alexey Glotov, "dressed in camouflage and armed with firearms, entered the military facility and planted explosive devices with a blast radius of up to 11 meters." One of them failed to detonate and was defused. An expert examination revealed that the devices were initiated using a delayed-action mechanism.

The damage was estimated at over 26,000 rubles. It was also reported that Vadim "planned to travel to Ukraine for military training."

In December 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony and a large fine.

In 2025, a court hearing was held to discuss the issue of changing the prison regime, as a result of which Vadim was transferred to a prison regime.

Igor is a journalist for Belsat TV. He previously worked for the newspaper "Belorusy i Rynok" (Belarusians and the Market) and the Belarusian service of Radio Svaboda. He has also published in Russian and Ukrainian publications. Together with his wife, journalist Ekaterina Andreyeva, he wrote the book "Belarusian Donbass," a study of the role of Belarusians in the war in eastern Ukraine.

He was first detained on July 16, 2021, during mass searches of independent journalists on charges of "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order or actively participating in them." His apartment was searched, his equipment and books were seized, and he was then placed in a temporary detention facility. He was released on July 26.

In October 2024, news of his second arrest broke . Pro-government Telegram channels published a photo of Igor in handcuffs and a video in which he claimed he was being persecuted for an interview with media outlets deemed "extremist" in Belarus. Shortly before his arrest, in a commentary to the Dozhd TV channel, he noted that "Putin has embarked on a course of sharp escalation and is leading the country toward all-out war," while Lukashenko, in his opinion, "most likely does not want to participate directly in it, but is forced to face increasing pressure from the Kremlin."

In February 2025, Igor was charged with "discrediting Belarus" and "assisting extremist activity." The trial began on February 21 in Minsk. The court rejected the request for an independent expert examination, and on September 5 of that year, the journalist was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

Yegor was arrested in February 2021 and later convicted of setting fire to a T-72 tank aboard a military train at the Stepyanka railway station. According to the case file, on the night of January 31, 2021, he threw a Molotov cocktail with the inscription "OGSB" at the tank. His actions were classified as an "act of terrorism." According to the prosecution, Yegor committed the arson based on his political views.

In early October 2023, it was announced that Yegor had been transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 in connection with a new criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation therein." In this case, he was sentenced to an additional six months in prison.

Anton, a volunteer for the Country for Life foundation and the Angel search squad, was detained on July 9, 2021, as part of a "KGB operation to purge radicals" and placed in pretrial detention on charges of financing the activities of an extremist group.

In October 2022, he was charged with "conspiracy to seize state power through unconstitutional means," and in November of that year, Anton was sentenced to imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.

Sergei, deputy chairman of the board of Belgazprombank, was detained as part of the Babariko case and convicted in July 2021 under the article “accepting a bribe”.

Igor was first convicted for unfurling a banner reading, "While there is lawlessness in the country, resistance is our duty," blocking traffic. He was given a large fine.

Later, he was convicted again for insulting the authorities through a comment in the chat "Molodechno for Life" and was assigned a preventive measure in the form of "house arrest". Igor has a disability, as he is missing one leg.

At the end of 2024, it became known that Igor had been detained again and placed in custody. In July 2025, he was convicted under the article "Assistance to extremist activity", sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.

Sergei, the former head of the department of the RUE "Minsk City Agency for State Registration and Land Cadastre", was arrested in June 2021 in a case of posting personal data of employees of the Smorgon District Department of Internal Affairs on a Telegram channel. According to the prosecution, from autumn 2020 to February 2021, he transferred personal data of more than ten employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and government officials to the administrators of Telegram channels.

In August 2022, Sergei was found guilty of several criminal charges, including “abuse of power or official authority,” and sentenced to imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational and administrative duties for a period of 5 years.

Stanislav, an activist from Gomel, was detained on May 28, 2021, after security forces conducted a search in his apartment, where he lived with his parents. Prior to this, he had served three administrative arrests under Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus for participating in protests.

Stanislav was convicted under two criminal articles for participating in a chain at the Solidarity March, which took place on September 20, 2020 in Gomel. He refused to sign a petition for pardon and defended his rights even in difficult prison conditions, despite health problems. He was left without care for his underage daughter and elderly parents, his father is disabled.

He was released in December 2023, having fully served his sentence.

In December 2024, it became known that Stanislav was again detained in a new criminal case.

Egor, a Russian citizen, was detained on May 4, 2021, by GUBOPiK officers in a rented apartment after a search and was brutally beaten. He was held in pretrial detention for seven months on charges of "organizing actions that grossly violate public order" - for voicing videos and audio messages on the "OGSB" Telegram channel. However, in December of the same year, he was convicted under the articles "inciting hatred or discord" and "calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus", and sentenced to the maximum possible prison term.

In June 2022, the conditions of detention were tightened, and Yegor was transferred to prison regime.

Alexander was arrested in January 2021 in connection with the mass riots case and convicted on charges of participating in Telegram channels of a “radical orientation,” as well as intending to damage or destroy three Tabakerka kiosks.

Vladislav, a blogger, poet and writer, was arrested in April 2021 and convicted a year later of fraud for promising more than 100 people in 2015–2016 to take part in Belarus’s first reality shows, but failing to keep his promise. He was also found guilty of participating in three Marches in 2020 and organizing protests via Instagram. Vladislav himself only admitted to participating in the rallies.

In October 2022, he was convicted again for insulting Lukashenko in a poem included in an appeal against the verdict.

On the portal of the online store Ridero.ru, under the pseudonym Vlad Savinn, his books are presented - the story "Ambidextrous" and the collection of poems "Poetry Through", available in printed and electronic form.

Sergei, an assistant to the head of a Minsk organization, was arrested in September 2020 at his home for participating in a protest against presidential election fraud and violence against civilians that took place in Minsk on August 11, 2020. He was convicted of "participating in mass riots" and also on drug-related charges.

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On September 7, 2020, he was detained at his residence. According to the medical examination report, at the time of his arrest, he was in a state caused by the use of psychotropic substances; mephedrone was detected in his system. During a search of his apartment, law enforcement officers found a powdered substance. Investigators later concluded that Sikorsky also sold the same substance to a 46-year-old resident of Mogilev.

During the closing arguments, the state prosecutor requested the court to award Sikorsky:

• Under Part 1 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code – 2 years of imprisonment;
• Under Part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code – 7 years' imprisonment and a fine of 300 basic units. By combining the penalties under the two parts of Article 328, the total sentence is 7 years' imprisonment;
• Under Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code – 5 years of imprisonment.

The final sentence is 9 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony and a fine of 300 basic units.

Denis, a special communications officer for the General Staff of the Armed Forces, was detained in March 2021 and convicted for, according to pro-government media, photographing a secret letter from the Minister of Internal Affairs to the Minister of Defense and “passing it on to a Polish Telegram channel.”

The trial was held behind closed doors, and the verdict was not subject to appeal or review. In addition to a long prison term, Denis was also stripped of his military rank.

In August 2022, his punishment was increased and he was transferred to prison.

Ivan, a Gomel activist and volunteer for “Country for Life”, a member of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, left for Russia after several detentions, administrative arrest and the initiation of two criminal cases in 2020.

While in Kaliningrad, Ivan was detained in April 2021 while attempting to cross the border with Poland. At the request of Belarusian law enforcement, he was charged in a criminal case under four articles, including "terrorism". However, after an investigation, the Russian side dropped three of the four charges. A year later, on April 26, 2022, Ivan was released on bail.

On May 27, 2022, he was detained again, and at the end of June, he was extradited to Belarus. According to the case materials, in 2018, he allegedly embezzled more than 68 thousand rubles. The investigation also noted that in 2020, Ivan participated in protests, filmed videos and contacted government agencies.

In December 2022, he was convicted of "fraud." In April 2024, Ivan was convicted again under the article "malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration."