Denis Anatolyevich Tolstoystenkov

Irina, editor-in-chief and director of the BelaPAN news agency, was detained on August 18, 2021, following searches of her home and the agency's offices, as well as an interrogation. She 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, she 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 Irina had also been charged with "creating an extremist group." In October 2022, she was found guilty of "participating in an extremist group," sentenced to imprisonment, and banned from holding certain positions for five years.

Irina was released in December 2024, having fully served her sentence imposed by the court.

Anna, a prominent activist who supported Viktor Babaryka, was arrested on July 26, 2021, in connection with a criminal case opened for defamation against Lukashenko. In November of that year, she was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

According to human rights activists, she was released in the spring of 2024, having fully served her sentence.

Nadezhda, the vocalist of the band IRDORATH, was detained on the evening of August 2, 2021, at a dacha near Minsk while celebrating her birthday with other musicians and guests.

In December of that year, she was found guilty of "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them" for her participation in post-election protests that took place in Minsk in 2020.

She was released in April 2023, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.

Yulia, a choral conductor and backing vocalist for several projects by the band IRDORATH, was detained on the evening of August 2, 2021, at a dacha near Minsk during the birthday celebration of IRDORATH vocalist Nadezhda Kalach, along with other musicians, as part of a criminal case.

In December of that year, she was found guilty of "organizing actions that grossly violate public order, as well as training or other preparation of individuals to participate in such actions" for her participation in post-election protests that took place in Minsk in 2020.

She was released in October 2022, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.

Previously, Tatyana worked at the Lida District Executive Committee as a senior inspector in the documentation department. In August 2021, she was convicted in a criminal case brought under the articles "insulting a government official" and "insulting Lukashenko" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. She was taken into custody in the courtroom. At the time of her arrest, Tatyana was on maternity leave.

In January 2023, she was released, having fully served her sentence.

Yulia was first convicted, along with her husband, of "participating in group actions grossly violating public order" in a criminal case opened following a protest that took place on September 13, 2020, in Brest. During the protest, people were singing and dancing in circles, but a water cannon was used against them. The court sentenced Yulia to a restricted freedom order in the form of "house arrest."

Several months later, on October 13, 2021, her home was searched, after which she was detained in connection with a new criminal case and placed in pretrial detention. She was convicted a second time in July 2022 on six criminal charges, accused of providing information about officials involved in the criminal prosecution of her family. The court sentenced Yulia to imprisonment and a fine. On appeal, the court reduced her prison term by only three months and reduced the fine. Ultimately, her final sentence was 4 years and 9 months.

In January 2025, it became known that Yulia had been tried for a third time under the article on “assisting extremist activity.”

In the fall of 2025 , she was released, having fully served her sentence.

Marina, a confidant of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 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.

On November 10, 2021, the charge was reclassified to a more lenient charge—"training and preparing individuals to participate in actions that grossly violate public order, as well as their financing or other material support." After this, she was placed under house arrest.

On November 11, 2022, the court sentenced Marina to one and a half years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, taking her into custody in the courtroom.

She was released in June 2023, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.

Lyudmila was convicted of insulting Lukashenko and arrested right in the courtroom. According to the prosecution, on August 12, 2020, she posted a long message with expressions addressed to Lukashenko on the social network VKontakte from her husband's account. At the trial, the woman explained that she published it for herself and did not realize that the post was available to other users. According to her, the page usually posted photos of animals, and this message was published publicly by mistake.

Lyudmila was released on March 9, 2022, as part of a pardon.

Sofia, a student at the European Humanities University and a citizen of the Russian Federation, was detained in May 2021 after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk by Belarusian authorities. The plane was en route from Athens to Vilnius. Sofia was accused of administering the Telegram channel "Black Book of Belarus", which published personal data and information about the private lives of civil servants.

At the end of December 2021, she was finally charged under seven articles of the Criminal Code, after which the case was referred to court.

The case was heard behind closed doors. In May 2022, Sofia was found guilty of two criminal charges. Following the trial, she was sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation to the victims and court fees totaling about $70,000. The entire amount was subsequently paid by her family.

Sofia was released in June 2023 as part of a pardon.

Olga, a blogger and designer, has been repeatedly persecuted and detained under administrative articles following the events that followed the 2020 elections in Minsk. In May 2021, her home was searched, after which Olga was detained as part of a criminal case opened on charges of "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." Before that, she was already a suspect under two articles of the Criminal Code - "insulting a judge" and "slandering an election commission employee."

In December of the same year, Olga was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment.

She was released in June 2022, having served her full sentence as determined by the court.

Alina was convicted for performances with mannequins in the form of police officers with the inscription "OMON". Before her arrest in the courtroom, she had been under house arrest since January 2021.

She was released in February 2022, having fully served her sentence.

Valentina was first convicted in May 2021 for “participating in group actions that grossly violate public order” in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place in Brest on September 13, 2020. At that time, the participants were singing and dancing in a circle, and a water cannon was used against them.

In April 2024, it became known that Valentina was detained for participating in a protest on August 10, 2020 in Brest against falsifications in the presidential elections. In August of the same year, she was sentenced to imprisonment, counting the previously imposed punishment in the form of "house arrest" towards her term.

She was released in the fall of 2024, having fully served her sentence as determined by the court.

Olga, an employee of the Minsk office of lawyer Yuri Zenkovich, was detained on April 12, 2021, as part of a criminal case initiated under the article “conspiracy or other actions committed with the aim of seizing state power.”

In early June 2022, the KGB completed its preliminary investigation, after which it became known that new charges had been brought against her. In September 2022, Olga was convicted of "active participation in group actions that grossly violate public order."

She was released in December 2022, having fully served her sentence as determined by the court.