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Nikolai is the leader of the unregistered Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada), a former presidential candidate, a retired lieutenant colonel, and a PhD in engineering. He was one of the founders of the Belarusian Military Association. He has been imprisoned multiple times for political reasons.
In the 1990s, he organized protests, including the Minsk Spring and the 1999 march.
In 2004, he led street protests against referendum fraud, after which he was sentenced in 2005 to three years of restricted freedom. Due to an amnesty announced in honor of the 60th anniversary of Victory Day, his sentence was reduced by one year. In 2010, he participated in the presidential campaign and protests in Minsk, after which he was arrested and sentenced in 2011 to six years in a maximum-security penal colony. In January 2012 and May 2015, his sentence was increased, resulting in his imprisonment. He was released in August 2015 as part of a pardon.
After his release, he continued his political activity and participation in street protests. In 2016, the Belarusian National Congress was founded on his initiative. In 2020, he spoke out in support of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , the wife of another unregistered candidate, social blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky . Nikolai was detained again on May 31, 2020, on his way to her election picket. He initially received 15 days of administrative arrest but was never released. Subsequently, in December 2021, he was convicted of criminal charges of "organizing mass riots."
According to human rights activists, the defendants in the case are required to pay compensation in the amount of 29 million rubles.
On September 11, 2025, it was reported that 52 prisoners of the Belarusian regime had been forcibly transferred to Lithuania. Among those released was Mikalai Statkevich. However, Mikalai refused to leave Belarus, and had to kick down the bus doors to do so. After waiting for several hours in the neutral zone, he returned to Belarus. It was only two months later that he was re-arrested. His exact whereabouts are unknown.
On February 19, 2026, it was announced that Nikolai had been released. On January 21, he suffered a stroke. He is recovering and currently has speech problems. Nikolai is currently at home in Belarus with his wife .
Since his release , Nikolai has no passport or other documents , nor has he been given a medical report or medical records. This creates significant challenges for prompt medical care . His legal status as a former political prisoner is also unclear , making it impossible for him to travel for rehabilitation .
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Alexey, CEO and developer of the startup MakeML, was detained on August 27, 2020 and convicted for participating in a peaceful gathering on Independence Square near the Red Church in Minsk.
He was released in March 2022, having served his full sentence as determined by the court.
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Igor, a consultant for Radio Liberty and administrator of the "Belarus of the Brain" Telegram channel, was arrested on June 25, 2020, on charges of "participating in group actions that grossly violate public order." However, he was later convicted of "organizing mass riots" as part of the Tikhanovsky criminal case.
According to human rights activists, the defendants in the case are required to pay compensation in the amount of 29 million rubles.
On September 11, 2025, it was announced that 52 political prisoners of the Belarusian regime had been forcibly transferred to Lithuania. Among them were citizens of European countries. Igor Losik was among those released.
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Victor, the product director of the IT company PandaDoc, was arrested on September 2, 2020, on charges of fraud by the Department of Financial Investigations.
Following the events of August 2020, PandaDoc founder Nikita Mikado launched the Protect Belarus initiative to support dismissed law enforcement officers who refused to follow illegal orders. The initiative received over 500 applications and attracted public attention.
Victor was released in August 2021 due to the closure of the case.
Dmitry was detained in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests against falsifications in the presidential elections that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."
He was released in April 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
Alexander was detained in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests against falsifications in the presidential elections that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."
He was released in August 2024, having fully served his sentence.
| 17.06.2021 | He refused to give evidence and explanations during the investigation and in court. |
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Danila was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place on September 13, 2020 in Brest, where people sang and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them. He was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." According to the prosecution, the downtime of the trolleybus and bus depots caused damage in the amount of about 660 Belarusian rubles.
He was released on October 23, 2021, having fully served his sentence, and deported to the Russian Federation.
Arseniy was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place on September 13, 2020 in Brest, where people sang and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them. He was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." According to the prosecution, the downtime of the trolleybus and bus depots caused damage in the amount of about 660 Belarusian rubles.
In December 2024, it became known that a court hearing in absentia was held regarding Arseniy to replace the restriction of freedom with imprisonment in a penal colony.
Roman was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place on September 13, 2020 in Brest, where people sang and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them. He was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." According to the prosecution, the downtime of the trolleybus and bus depots caused damage in the amount of about 660 Belarusian rubles.
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Sergei was arrested in November 2020 and convicted in a criminal case brought for blocking railway tracks and hanging scarecrows in Brest.
He was released in July 2022, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
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Vadim was detained and convicted for breaking the window of a bus carrying police officers during a protest that took place on August 10, 2020 in Bereza.
In September 2021, he was pardoned: his sentence was replaced with “house arrest”.
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The social activist was detained on January 3, 2021, at her home after security forces broke down the door, conducted a search, and seized some of her belongings. Polina was convicted of "threatening to use violence against an internal affairs officer" and "insulting a government official." She refused to testify either during the investigation or in court.
In April 2022, Polina's sentence was extended on charges of "disobeying the demands of the prison administration," and in October 2023, she was convicted again under the same article. Polina is the first female political prisoner in Belarus to be convicted under this article. The article is used against prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration, often for alleged violations.
The political prisoner is systematically subjected to psychological pressure and physical violence; she has been repeatedly placed in solitary confinement, punishment cells and punishment cells.
The BNR Rada awarded Polina Sharendo-Panasyuk the Order of the Pursuit.
In March 2024, a propaganda story about Polina accidentally showed a yellow tag indicating the end date of her imprisonment: May 21. However, she was not released on that day, and she was charged for the third time with “disobeying the prison administration,” for which she was convicted again in October 2024.
She was released on February 1, 2025, having fully served her sentence (4 consecutive terms).
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Evgeny was arrested in November 2020 and convicted in a criminal case brought for blocking railway tracks and hanging scarecrows in Brest.
In the winter of 2024, he was transferred to prison regime.
In July 2025, he was released , having served his entire sentence.
Svyatoslav was detained in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests against the falsification of the presidential elections that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."
According to human rights activists , he was released on January 28, 2025, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
Vyacheslav was detained in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest against the falsification of the presidential elections. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots." According to the case materials, the total damage amounted to about 24 thousand Belarusian rubles.
He was released in April 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.