Andrey Mikhailovich Cedric
Institution "Pre-trial Detention Facility No. 1" of the Department of the Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus for the city of Minsk and Minsk Region. Head. Colonel of the Internal Service.
Institution "Pre-trial Detention Facility No. 1" of the Department of the Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus for the city of Minsk and Minsk Region. Head. Colonel of the Internal Service.
List of repressed
- Associations
- Bloggers
- Twice political prisoners
- Journalists
Nikolai, a blogger, journalist and anarchist activist, was detained on November 11, 2020, by GUBOPiK and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. During his detention, he was beaten, pepper sprayed in his eyes and forced to appear in a video for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After his detention, Nikolai was tortured, demanding access to Telegram channels.
He was convicted on charges of organizing protests and extremism. In prison, he was repeatedly punished: sent to solitary confinement, punishment cells, and restricted in communication. In 2023, Nikolai continued to receive penalties for minor violations. In 2024, a new case was opened against him under the article for "disobeying the demands of the administration of a correctional institution" - it is applied to prisoners who refuse to cooperate, for fictitious violations.
In October 2024, it became known that he had been in a punishment cell (SHIZO) for the fourth month.
On September 11, 2025, it became known that 52 prisoners of the Belarusian regime were forcibly transferred to the territory of Lithuania. Among them are citizens of European countries. Among those released is Nikolai Dziadok.
- Associations
- Activists
- Parents of minors
Viktor, a member of the initiative group of presidential candidate Viktor Babariko, an independent observer at the 2020 elections at the Khatezhino polling station and a volunteer, was detained on December 6, 2020. He was convicted of hanging effigies with photographs of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the chairman of the Khatezhino election commission on the bridge with the inscription "We will not forget, we will not forgive!", as well as for applying images of the Belarusian coat of arms "Pahonia" to the structures and supports of the bridge.
He was released in September 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
- Associations
- Teachers
Well-known translator and English teacher Olga was detained on January 15, 2021 and convicted for allegedly hitting STV employee Grigory Azarenok during one of the protests in Minsk.
Yegor was detained on August 9, 2020, during a protest in Minsk against the falsification of the presidential elections. That evening, he stood on the bumper of a paddy wagon, but then fell under its wheels. After that, riot police beat him, and Yegor was sent to the hospital, where he remained until the end of August. He was later taken into custody and convicted of participating in the protest.
He was released on April 30, 2022, having fully served his sentence.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Kirill was detained on October 4, 2020, after the "March for the Liberation of Political Prisoners" that took place in Minsk. He was later convicted of participating in the protests.
On September 18, 2023, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
Ivan was detained and convicted in a criminal case opened after the protest action, the "March of Heroes", which took place on September 13, 2020 in Minsk. He was accused of damaging an official car and attacking riot police officers. As a result, the court found him guilty under the articles on "violence or threat of violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies" and "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." Ivan pleaded guilty only to damaging the car.
He was released in June 2023, having served his full sentence.
Yaroslav was detained on September 25, 2020, on charges of participating in a protest on the night of August 10-11, 2020, near the Riga shopping center in Minsk. He was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." The court also ordered the confiscation of his personal car to the state, considering it a means of committing a crime.
In January 2022, he was pardoned: his sentence was replaced with “house arrest”.
Sergei was detained on September 23, 2020 and convicted for participating in protests that took place in August 2020 in Minsk against falsifications in the presidential elections, as well as for publications in the Telegram channel "Drivers 97%".
In the summer of 2023, he was released, having fully served the sentence imposed by the court.
- Associations
- Bloggers
- Politicians
- Parents of minors
Popular Belarusian blogger and creator of the YouTube channel "Country for Life" Sergei expressed a desire to run for president. However, before the start of the election campaign, he was arrested for organizing an unauthorized event. His wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, submitted documents to the Central Election Commission by proxy, but Sergei was not registered as a candidate due to the lack of his signature. Subsequently, Svetlana herself was registered as a candidate. After his release, Sergei became her trusted person and participated in collecting signatures.
On May 29, 2020, he was detained again during a picket in Grodno and later convicted under several criminal articles, including "organizing mass riots" and "inciting hatred." According to human rights activists, the defendants in the "case" are required to pay compensation in the amount of 29 million rubles.
In August 2022, the court transferred Sergei to prison regime. In February 2023, he was convicted again for "malicious disobedience to the demands of the administration of a correctional institution" - an article applied to prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration, including for fictitious violations. As a result, another year and a half of imprisonment was added to his 18-year sentence.
On June 21, 2025, Sergey was released following a visit to Minsk by U.S. President Donald Trump's special representative, Keith Kellogg, and was immediately taken to Lithuania.
- Associations
- Activists
- Military
- Politicians
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 .
- Associations
- IT staff
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.
- Associations
- Bloggers
- Journalists
- Parents of minors
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.
- Associations
- Entrepreneurs
- Parents of minors
- IT staff
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.
- Associations
- Activists
- Politicians
- Teachers
- Parents of minors
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).
