Natalia Vladimirovna Zakharenko
- Associations
- Foreign citizens
Citizen of Ukraine. Larisa Krupa is involved in the case along with Zakharenko. The women are accused under articles of failure to report a crime (Part 2 of Article 406 of the Criminal Code) and espionage (Article 358 of the Criminal Code). The trial will be held behind closed doors.
Natalya has been traveling to Belarus since the second half of 2022. She helped Ukrainians who were stuck in Belarus and could not get out on their own, leave the country. She traveled to Belarus in her own car. Zakharanka helped smuggle about 30 people out of Belarus.
During another trip to Belarus, the woman disappeared. She stopped communicating on July 17, 2023.
It is known that, in addition to the prison term, the court decided to confiscate Natalya’s minibus.
Her friend, Belarusian from Mozyr Larisa Krupa, was awarded a fine of 100 basic units (4 thousand Belarusian rubles) for “failure to report a crime.”
The circumstances of the accusation are unknown, as are the details of the trial; the trial was closed.
On May 24, 2024, the appeal was considered and the verdict entered into force.
On the evening of June 28, 2024, sudden information appeared about the release of five political prisoners from Belarusian colonies. The Ukrainian authorities achieved the release of their exchange citizens as prisoners. This is how Natalya Zakharenko, Pavel Kuprienko, Lyudmila Goncharenko, Ekaterina Bryukhanova, as well as Nikolai Shvets, a defendant in the “Machulishchi case,” were released. The terms of the exchange were not disclosed. It is noted that the Vatican took part in the liberation. The released political prisoners were brought to Ukraine on June 28 - their photo from the Zhulyany airport appeared in the media.
Trial outcome date unknown: 9 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 24.05.2024: unknown.
How to write a letter
✏️ A postcard with words of encouragement (a poem by your favorite author, song lyrics, or a beautiful quote). Trust us, even such simple gestures are very meaningful to a person in jail.
✏️ Your life events. To a person who is in isolation for a long time, any story about your routine endeavors will be a window into normal life. Your day-to-day worries and mundane matters are much more interesting than the daily grind of life behind bars.
✏️ It is important to share news. Mention the most notable and interesting occurrences depending on your pen-pal's interests.
✍️️ Remember that every letter is censored. This means that your letters are read by strangers whose main goal is to limit inmates' access to information or to use it against the prisoners or even you.
So try to avoid:
👉️️ harsh statements regarding ongoing political matters
👉 statements against the authorities and public servants
👉 foul language
👉 discussion of the circumstances of the criminal case