All persecuted

Alexander, a former legal adviser to Naftan OJSC, a subsidiary of the Polimir plant, was detained in September 2021 in Russia while attempting to travel to Warsaw. En route from Voronezh, FSB officers checked his documents, and, knowing he would be detained in Moscow, he jumped from a train, suffering a broken leg and a dislocated arm. He made it to the Ukrainian border. While attempting to cross legally, he was detained, handed over to KGB officers, and placed in pretrial detention as part of a criminal case against plant employees who supported the strike and were members of the Workers' Movement (Rabochy Rukh). This initiative was deemed extremist on September 21, 2021, and simultaneously, workers were arrested across the country.

In February 2023, he was found guilty of "illegal actions with firearms," "treason," and "creation of and participation in an extremist group," and sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.

In April 2023, Alexander was among the top three finalists for the international human rights prize, the Global Advocacy Award.

In April 2024, another court hearing took place, following which Alexander was transferred to prison.

Dmitry was a witness in the case of Brest political prisoners and bloggers Sergei Petrukhin and Alexander Kabanov, who were sentenced to three years in prison in April 2021. As he told Brest human rights activists, the criminal case against him was opened for refusing to answer questions from the judge hearing Petrukhin and Kabanov's case because the judge had failed to present his official identification. In September 2021, Dmitry was found guilty of "refusing or evading testimony" and sentenced to arrest.

He was released in February 2022, having fully served his sentence.

In December 2024, Dmitry was convicted again under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

Anastasia was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article “act of terrorism”, and in June 2023 she was convicted under several criminal articles.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Vladislav was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article “act of terrorism”.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Vladislav was sentenced under numerous criminal articles to a long term of imprisonment, the first five years of which were in prison. He was also stripped of his military rank.

Vitaly was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article "act of terrorism", and in June 2023 he was sentenced under numerous criminal articles to a long term of imprisonment, the first five years of which were in prison.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Olga was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article "act of terrorism" and convicted in June 2023 under several criminal articles.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Vyacheslav was arrested in the summer of 2021 as part of a criminal case opened under the articles "inciting hatred or discord" and "illegal collection and dissemination of information about private life."

In March 2022, he was convicted of transmitting information about law enforcement officials to an opposition Telegram channel. Vyacheslav was also stripped of his special rank of "lieutenant colonel of justice" in the reserves.

Pavel was first convicted in May 2021 for "insulting Lukashenko" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. He was released in May 2022, having served his full sentence.

Pavel was detained again in the spring of 2024 on suspicion of collaborating with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. This was reported on the program "All About the Case" on the state-run television channel Belarus 4. Mogilev. In the published video, Pavel claims to have filmed the deployment of Iskander missiles to pass on to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and also reads a text presented as an oath of allegiance to Ukraine.

In November 2024, he faced a series of court hearings under the articles "participation in an armed group or armed conflict, military operations on the territory of a foreign state, recruitment or training of persons for such participation" and "treason." The outcome of the cases is unknown.

Natalia was arrested in June 2021 on suspicion of planning to set fire to logging equipment. The arrest took place in the evening right on the forestry farm grounds, where she allegedly arrived with her accomplice, Gordeyev, who was actually on assignment from state security agencies.

According to the prosecution, on the evening of June 8, 2021, Natalia and this man prepared Molotov cocktails, which they planned to use to set fire to the equipment. However, the crime was not completed—Natalia was detained before the arson could be committed.

In court, Natalia testified that she had found herself in a difficult situation: in August 2020, an acquaintance of hers was arrested, she had lost her father, and was experiencing difficulties at work. She also confirmed that she had indeed been a member of the "OGSB" chat group and had intended to destroy logging equipment at the forestry enterprise.

In December 2022, she was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a general regime penal colony with a large fine.

Artyom, an anarchist activist, was detained on August 4, 2021, by GUBOPiK officers. Upon arrest, they greeted him with the words "Welcome to the Gestapo!" before beating him, forcing him into a "swallow" position, and threatening to rape him, demanding his phone password. The following day, Artyom was convicted under Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (allegedly for aggressive behavior upon arrival at the police station) and sentenced to 15 days in jail. However, he was not released after his arrest.

Artyom was initially charged with "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." In January 2022, he and other defendants were additionally charged with participating in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of his arrest, the channel had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups, which only happened in November 2021.

In April 2022, Artyom was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

According to human rights activists, he was expected to be released in the winter of 2026.

Sergei was arrested in March 2021 and convicted that fall for posting stickers in Vitebsk. According to the prosecution, from October 1, 2020, to March 22, 2021, he engaged in activities aimed at "systematic property damage": using aerosol paint, he spray-painted slogans such as "Long Live Belarus!", "3%," "Red Partisan," "Go Away," and others on Vitebskvodokanal facilities.

In September 2024, another court hearing took place, following which Sergei was transferred to prison.

Dmitry, the former director of the BelaPAN news agency, was detained on August 18, 2021, following a search and questioning by the Investigative Committee. He was initially placed in pretrial detention for 72 hours as part of a criminal case under the article "organizing or preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or participating in them." However, he was not released and was transferred to a pretrial detention center 10 days later. The charge was later amended to tax evasion.

In November 2021, it was revealed that Dmitry had also been charged with "creating an extremist group." In October 2022, he was found guilty of "participating in an extremist group" and "tax evasion," sentenced to imprisonment, imposed a large fine, and banned from holding certain positions for five years.

Andrey, a construction worker and decorator, was arrested in July 2021 in a criminal case related to the "Busly Lyatsyats" initiative. Some of the charges involved damaging the car of a Borisov district judge. As a result, he was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment and a fine.

In September 2024, Andrei was convicted again under the article on “malicious disobedience to the demands of the administration of a correctional institution.” This article is often applied to prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration and provides for punishment for imaginary violations. As a result, his total sentence was increased to 17 years.

Andrei is survived by three children and a wife who has serious health problems.

Roman was arrested in March 2021 as part of a criminal case under the article "Accomplicity in intentional actions aimed at inciting other social hatred and discord based on another social affiliation, committed by a group of persons." He was convicted of leaking information to BYPOL.

"On March 18, 2021, Roman went to a police officer's home to check the address published online and report it to a destructive resource. He entered the building, rang the intercom, met the police officer's husband, and fled. At home, he sent a message to a Telegram channel confirming the address," the investigation documents state.

In the fall of 2023, the conditions of his detention were tightened, and Roman was transferred to a prison regime.

In September 2024, a court hearing was held on the charge of "malicious disobedience to the demands of the administration of a correctional facility," during which Roman could have received up to two years of imprisonment; the outcome of the hearing is unknown.

Evgeny is an anarchist activist. He was arrested on July 29, 2021, in Minsk. His apartment was searched, and he was beaten during his arrest. To gain access to his phone and computer, they pulled a bag over Evgeny's head.

During his transfer to the pretrial detention center, all of his books were confiscated and he was placed on a preventative register as someone prone to extremism, which entails a note in his personal file, special treatment, and additional work with a psychologist.

Evgeny was initially charged with "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." In January 2022, he and other defendants in the criminal case were additionally charged with participating in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of his arrest, the channel had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups; this only happened in November 2021.

In April 2022, Yevgeny was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. In April 2023, his detention regime was tightened, and he was transferred to a prison regime. In October 2025, the court added another year to his prison sentence for "malicious disobedience to the administration's demands."