Alena Dzmitryyeuna Pyrkh
Penal Colony No. 4, Department of Correctional Institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Gomel Region and the City of Gomel. Employee of the penal department. Assistant to the duty assistant to the warden of the penal colony.
Elena Dmitrievna Pyrkh participated in the persecution of political prisoners. All provocations by the penal institution administration took place under her supervision. She was present during all searches of the political prisoners' cells, displaying aggression, threatening, and insulting female prisoners.
Prohibited items, usually pills or needles, were planted in the cells of women who, in the administration's opinion, needed punishment, and Pyrkh then "found" them. She then took the prisoner to the penal department and filed a report.
Another form of psychological pressure was "fire safety drills," when Pyrkh would suddenly appear in the unit and demand that all prisoners "take out" their belongings in an organized manner within 10 minutes. If the prisoners failed to complete this task within the allotted time, the process would begin again.
Pyrkh would shout, insult, and humiliate the prisoners. If she didn't like something, she would force the entire unit to stand in the sun, rain, or cold for several hours, during which time they would be required to read the prison rules.
She often filed reports on political prisoners and demanded stricter conditions for them at commission meetings, including insisting on solitary confinement in place of a reprimand, deprivation of visits, parcel delivery, and so on at punishment commissions.
These actions directly indicate complicity with the Lukashenko regime's repressive policies against those who do not support the government and violate prisoners' rights to humane treatment.
Penal Colony No. 4, Department of Correctional Institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Gomel Region and the City of Gomel. Employee of the penal department. Assistant to the duty assistant to the warden of the penal colony.
Elena Dmitrievna Pyrkh participated in the persecution of political prisoners. All provocations by the penal institution administration took place under her supervision. She was present during all searches of the political prisoners' cells, displaying aggression, threatening, and insulting female prisoners.
Prohibited items, usually pills or needles, were planted in the cells of women who, in the administration's opinion, needed punishment, and Pyrkh then "found" them. She then took the prisoner to the penal department and filed a report.
Another form of psychological pressure was "fire safety drills," when Pyrkh would suddenly appear in the unit and demand that all prisoners "take out" their belongings in an organized manner within 10 minutes. If the prisoners failed to complete this task within the allotted time, the process would begin again.
Pyrkh would shout, insult, and humiliate the prisoners. If she didn't like something, she would force the entire unit to stand in the sun, rain, or cold for several hours, during which time they would be required to read the prison rules.
She often filed reports on political prisoners and demanded stricter conditions for them at commission meetings, including insisting on solitary confinement in place of a reprimand, deprivation of visits, parcel delivery, and so on at punishment commissions.
These actions directly indicate complicity with the Lukashenko regime's repressive policies against those who do not support the government and violate prisoners' rights to humane treatment.
List of repressed
Elena was arrested along with her husband in September 2021 as part of a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them."
In February 2022, she was convicted in the so-called "Milky World" case for participating in a peaceful protest that took place on September 6, 2020, in Grodno, as well as for "violence against a police officer," and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
She was released in January 2024, having fully served her sentence.
- Associations
- Activists
Anna was arrested in October 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened following a protest on September 13, 2020, in Brest, where people were singing and dancing in circles and were attacked with a water cannon. She was convicted of "participating in group actions that grossly violate public order" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
Anna was released in February 2023, having fully served her sentence.
Ekaterina was arrested on September 20, 2021, in connection with a criminal case opened under the articles "hooliganism committed by a group of persons" and "organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them."
In May 2022, she was found guilty and sentenced to prison for a performance at a city cemetery in Vitebsk: a group of young people installed a portrait of Lukashenko on a grave and opened champagne.
Released in August 2024 as part of a pardon.
Yulia was detained on September 20, 2021, as part of a criminal case opened under the article "hooliganism committed by a group of persons."
In May 2022, she was found guilty and sentenced to prison for a performance at a city cemetery in Vitebsk: a group of young people installed a portrait of Lukashenko on a grave and opened champagne.
Released in September 2024 as part of a pardon.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Yulia was arrested in September 2021 as part of a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In July 2022, she was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord," "insulting a government official," and "insulting Lukashenko," and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
She was released in March 2023, having fully served her sentence.
- Associations
- Retirees
- Teachers
Emma was arrested in September 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In September 2022, Emma's pretrial detention was changed and she was transferred from the pretrial detention facility to house arrest.
In November 2022, she was found guilty of "insulting a government official" and "insulting Lukashenko" and taken into custody in the courtroom.
She was released in May 2023, having fully served her sentence.
In October 2024, it became known that a new criminal case had been opened against Emma for "insulting a government official." This was revealed in a news report published in the local district newspaper.
Polina was arrested in September 2021 as part of a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In August 2022, she was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting a government official" and sentenced to imprisonment.
She was released in September 2023, having fully served her sentence.
Larisa was arrested in September 2021 as part of a criminal case opened due to online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In August 2022, she was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting a government official," and sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.
In September 2023, she was released, having fully served her sentence imposed by the court.
- Associations
Natalia is a pediatrician, psychiatrist-narcologist, psychotherapist, existential philosopher, and psychologist. She was detained in September 2021 at her workplace—the Minsk Center for Child Psychiatry and Psychotherapy—as part of a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk. Several hours before her arrest, she was informed of her dismissal.
In September 2022, she was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting a government official," and sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.
In January 2023, she was released , having fully served her court-appointed sentence.
On May 27, 2026, special proceedings (a procedure for an in absentia criminal investigation and trial) were initiated against Natalia.
Elena was arrested in September 2021 as part of a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In August 2022, she was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting a government official" and sentenced to imprisonment.
In September 2023, she was released, having fully served her sentence imposed by the court.
Yana was arrested in September 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "Desecration of state symbols." In December of that year, she was found guilty of tearing down a flag on a street in Gomel and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
She was released in June 2022, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.
Olga was arrested in September 2021 for painting over 80 bales of haylage, after which a criminal case was opened against her for malicious hooliganism. She was remanded in custody pending trial and placed in a temporary detention facility.
In January 2022, Olga was charged with "gross violation of public order, expressed in an attempt to distract drivers and disrupt traffic" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
She was released in May 2022, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Elena was arrested in September 2021 for painting over 80 bales of haylage, after which a criminal case was opened against her for malicious hooliganism. She was remanded in custody pending trial and placed in a temporary detention facility.
In January 2022, Elena was charged with "gross violation of public order, expressed in an attempt to distract drivers and disrupt traffic" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
She was released in May 2022, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.
After her release, pressure continued to be exerted on Elena; in June 2022, she was detained by KGB officers. She was subsequently forced to leave Belarus.
- Associations
- Foreign citizens
Irina, a Russian citizen, was arrested on May 28, 2021, in Brest and convicted in September of that year for a tweet published on May 23. It contained a link to a LiveJournal post reprinting a BBC Russian Service report on the incident with the Ryanair flight carrying Roman Protasevich. She added her own headline to the reprint: "Lukashenko's latest crime: an act of state aviation piracy." The expression "an act of state aviation piracy" was used in the BBC text as a quote from the Greek Foreign Ministry's response.
On September 1, 2022, she was released after serving her sentence and immediately deported to Russia with a 10-year ban on entering Belarus.
Larisa was first arrested on September 27, 2020, and convicted of an administrative offense. After the trial, she suffered a seizure and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Larisa suffers from depressive anxiety disorder and claustrophobia.
On August 6, 2021, security forces came to her workplace, conducted a search, and after interrogation, placed her in a temporary detention facility for three days. After this period, she was charged with violence or threat of violence against police officers for participating in a Sunday march on September 27, 2020, in Gomel, during which security forces used tear gas and stun grenades. According to the prosecution, Larisa "used brute force to grab a security officer by the arm, move him, and thereby obstruct his work."
In December 2021, Larisa was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
She was released in May 2023, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.
