Dmitry Rudolfovich Shinvize
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- Dmitry Rudolfovich Shinvize
Dmitry Rudolfovich Shinvize
The Department of the Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus for the Mogilev Region. Correctional Colony No. 2 in Babruisk. Head of the Operational-Regime Unit, Major.
Dmitry Rudolfovich Shinvize is an accomplice to the repressions in the Babruisk colony, guilty of using violence and creating harsh conditions for political prisoners: placing them in a punishment cell upon arrival, refusing to give them parcels, and prohibiting them from communicating with other prisoners. He greeted new arrivals with the words: "You have ended up in the 'reddest' colony in the world."
He is known for his cruelty and strict control of the regime, personally conducting inspections and punishing for the slightest violations, accompanying this with abuse and bullying. He gave propaganda lectures to political prisoners. In 2023, he introduced new restrictions on the mailing of books and medical supplies.
At the beginning of 2024, he resigned and went to Germany under the repatriation program for descendants of German colonists (Spätaussiedler). According to BELPOL, he lives under the name Dimitri Schönwiese in Schwerin. At least 50 political prisoners remain in Colony No. 2. The German authorities have been notified of his involvement in the repressions.
The Department of the Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus for the Mogilev Region. Correctional Colony No. 2 in Babruisk. Head of the Operational-Regime Unit, Major.
Dmitry Rudolfovich Shinvize is an accomplice to the repressions in the Babruisk colony, guilty of using violence and creating harsh conditions for political prisoners: placing them in a punishment cell upon arrival, refusing to give them parcels, and prohibiting them from communicating with other prisoners. He greeted new arrivals with the words: "You have ended up in the 'reddest' colony in the world."
He is known for his cruelty and strict control of the regime, personally conducting inspections and punishing for the slightest violations, accompanying this with abuse and bullying. He gave propaganda lectures to political prisoners. In 2023, he introduced new restrictions on the mailing of books and medical supplies.
At the beginning of 2024, he resigned and went to Germany under the repatriation program for descendants of German colonists (Spätaussiedler). According to BELPOL, he lives under the name Dimitri Schönwiese in Schwerin. At least 50 political prisoners remain in Colony No. 2. The German authorities have been notified of his involvement in the repressions.
List of repressed
resident of Molodechno, detained on September 7, 2021 in a criminal case on insulting the state flag. Vladislav is accused of setting fire to the state flag, located near the store, together with Alexei Chashun.
On June 22, 2022, he was released after the expiration of his sentence.
1 year and 5 days in prison.
Inhabitant of Nesvizh. He was found guilty of hitting a policeman on the back during a protest in Nesvizh on August 11, 2020, who was detaining protesters. There are two children.
Released on May 30, 2022 after the expiration of the sentence.
1 year in prison.
According to the investigation, on October 12, 2020, at about 21:00, Zaikovsky, in a state of alcoholic intoxication on Dzerzhinsky Avenue with other unidentified persons, resisted police officers, threatened them with violence, and threw a beer glass towards the police bus.
He did not admit his guilt.
On October 20, 2022, in colony No. 2, the consideration of the case against Alexander under Part 1 of Art. 411 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus
In December 2023, he was released upon expiration of his sentence.
Andrei was arrested in August 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "participation in mass riots" and convicted in November of that year for participating in post-election protests that took place in Minsk in 2020.
He was released in November 2024 as part of a pardon.
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- Teachers
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- Teachers
Andrei, a former history and social studies teacher from Smorgon with nearly 20 years of experience, showed his 11th-graders a video in March 2021 titled "The Constitution Has Gone Into Prostitution!" featuring a logo deemed extremist in Belarus. One of the students filmed it on his phone and posted it in a family chat. Afterward, Andrei was fired and a criminal case was opened under the article "Slander against Lukashenko." In August 2021, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
In January 2023, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
Andrei was convicted of an administrative offense in October 2020 for participating in a post-election protest. In May 2021, he was arrested in connection with a criminal case opened on four counts, including insulting a government official and Lukashenko. In September of that year, Andrei was sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to pay substantial compensation.
He was released in September 2024 as part of a pardon.
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- Parents of minors
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- Parents of minors
Vitaly was convicted for a comment about Lukashenko that investigators deemed offensive and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
In June 2022, he was placed in solitary confinement twice: the first time for five days, after which he was transferred to a new unit for "malicious violators of the regime," and a few days later for ten days. In July of that year, it was announced that Vitaly had been transferred to a cell-type facility for five months, remaining on his sentence.
He was released in December 2022, having fully served his sentence.
After his release, Vitaly left Belarus because, when he was registered, the first deputy head of the Kobrin District Department of Internal Affairs, Alexander Kosyak, threatened that next time he would be imprisoned with his wife.
In November 2023, it became known that a new criminal case had been opened against Vitaly for “assisting extremist activity.”
Yuri was found guilty of leaving a comment on social media on March 1, 2021, intending to publicly insult Lukashenko. The expert examination found it derogatory and negative toward Lukashenko: "A vile creature cannot be king, a Lucifer in human form..."
At the end of January 2023, he was released, having fully served the sentence imposed by the court.
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- Parents of minors
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- Parents of minors
Artur was arrested in June 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." That fall, he was found guilty. According to the prosecution, from August 31, 2020, to April 31, 2021, Artur posted messages in the Telegram chats "Drivers 97" and "Military Town Uruchye" calling for participation in protests, blocking traffic, and organizing mass events.
In March 2023, Arthur was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
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- Twice political prisoners
- Human rights activists
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- Twice political prisoners
- Human rights activists
Alexander is the chairman and founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center and former vice president of the International Federation for Human Rights. He is a laureate of the Andrei Sakharov Freedom Prize and other international human rights awards. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times and won it in 2022.
Alexander had previously been prosecuted. On August 4, 2011, he was arrested after Lithuania and Poland handed over his bank account information to Belarusian authorities. He was charged with concealing income on an especially large scale. On November 24, 2011, the court sentenced him to imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony with confiscation of property. Alexander pleaded not guilty, claiming that the funds were used exclusively for human rights activities. EU countries, the United States, and international human rights organizations recognized him as a political prisoner, and his sentence was politically motivated. He was released in the summer of 2014 under an amnesty.
On July 14, 2021, Alexander was arrested again following a search of his apartment and office as part of a tax evasion case. In September 2022, that case was dropped, but he was charged with new charges of smuggling and financing group activities that grossly violate public order.
In March 2023, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to pay substantial compensation. He pleaded not guilty in court.
In early November 2023, Alexander was placed in a PKT for trumped-up reasons. In April–May 2024, he was returned to his unit, but he continues to be under increased scrutiny. He works in woodworking, receives penalties, and is deprived of parcels, video calls, and correspondence. It is known that his previous stint in the Bobruisk penal colony has left him with health problems that persist.
On December 13, 2025, he was released after another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Lithuania.
Pavel was arrested on June 23, 2021, as part of a criminal case for participation in mass riots, initiated in connection with the events in Minsk in August 2020.
In October of the same year, he was convicted of participating in protests that took place on August 10–11, 2020, and sentenced to imprisonment.
He was released in March 2025, having fully served his sentence.
After his release, he was required to report regularly to the police, and his home was subject to nightly inspections. His parents' homes were also searched. Due to this persecution, Pavel left Belarus in late May 2025.
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- Journalists
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- Journalists
Egor is the editor-in-chief of the Nasha Niva website (nn.by), and has been working for the publication since 2009. On July 8, 2021, he was detained in connection with a case of "group actions grossly violating public order." He was later charged under the article on "causing property damage without signs of theft" - for paying for utilities at rates for individuals instead of legal entities. The investigation calculated the damage at more than 10 thousand rubles.
In March 2022, Egor was sentenced to imprisonment, despite the fact that the damages were fully compensated.
In August 2023, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
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- Parents of minors
- Service sector
- Associations
- Parents of minors
- Service sector
Alexander was detained in the winter of 2021 and convicted under articles on insulting Lukashenko and inciting hatred on the basis of social affiliation - in relation to police officers. The case of insulting Lukashenko was initiated for a comment on Telegram left by Alexander on September 27, 2020. Under another article, the criminal case was based on messages posted by him from July to October 2020, which, according to the investigation and the court, contained calls for aggressive actions against police officers.
According to human rights activists, Alexander was released in May 2024, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
Leonid was detained in February 2021 and later charged with public calls for violence and acts of terrorism, which, according to investigators, he posted in one of the public Telegram chats in October-November 2020. He did not admit his guilt.
According to human rights activists, he was released in April 2024, having fully served his sentence.
Sergei was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place in Pinsk on the night of August 9-10, 2020 against falsifications in the presidential elections. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."
He was released in August 2024 under a pardon.