All persecuted

At first he was in Okrestina. Then he was arrested under the Criminal Code. Relatives note that Denis is a good, honest, fair and sympathetic guy. On pro-government channels, Denis is called the "chief visual editor" of the Supraci movement videos. In the video, Salmanovich says that he was detained by police officers because he "was a member of destructive Telegram channels", "collaborated with "Busly Lyatsyats"" and participated in protests in 2020.

The Court of Appeal reduced the sentence from 10 to 9.5 years' imprisonment.

Denis has a serious illness - chronic glomerulonephritis after hemorrhagic vasculitis. In the summer of 2024, an ambulance took the man from the colony. Salmanovich underwent surgery - his gallbladder was removed. After the operation, the man spent another week in the colony's medical unit until his stitches were removed.

The mother of the political prisoner says that the last time Denis contacted her was in mid-November 2024. After the call, the man was immediately taken to a punishment cell, where he remains to this day (January 2024).

In April 2025, his punishment was increased and he was transferred to prison.

Alexey, a retired justice lieutenant colonel, held various positions in the Investigative Committee from 2012 to 2021. In July 2021, he was arrested in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "group actions grossly violating public order."

In October 2021, Alexei was convicted for participating in the post-election protests that took place in Minsk in August 2020. In 2022, Lukashenko stripped him of his title.

He was released in April 2023, having fully served his sentence.

At the end of July 2023, Alexey was arrested again. Propaganda outlets claimed he allegedly "attempted to involve his former colleagues in the resolution of the issue through bribery, acting in the interests of a Ukrainian citizen serving a sentence."

In October 2023, he was found guilty of bribery and sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.

Andrei was arrested in June 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened under the articles "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order," "illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition, and explosives," and "insulting Lukashenko."

In September 2021, he was found guilty of participating in the 2020 post-election protests in Minsk, insulting Lukashenko on YouTube, and purchasing, storing, and transporting a bulk substance without notifying authorized authorities.

In June 2022, Andrei faced a court hearing for "malicious disobedience to the demands of the prison administration," which resulted in his prison term being extended and the prison regime being tightened.

In January 2023, another court hearing was held on charges of "disobeying the administration's demands." As a result, the total sentence was seven years in prison.

Since April 2024 and as of early December of that year, Andrei's family has had no news of him. Their inquiries to the prison administration were met with a formal response, stating that he would report everything himself "through correspondence," but no letters have been received from him.

Alexey, a Russian citizen and former Beltelecom employee, was arrested in November 2020 in a criminal case opened under eight articles, including "illegal actions against private information and personal data" and "interference with the activities of a law enforcement officer." It is also known that Alexey was severely beaten during his arrest.

In February 2022, he was convicted of "transferring personal and other personal data of more than 150 individuals to Telegram channels deemed extremist" and sentenced to a lengthy prison term, as well as to pay substantial compensation to the "victims," equivalent to approximately $30,000 at the time of sentencing.

Artyom, an anarchist activist, was detained on August 4, 2021, by GUBOPiK officers. Upon arrest, they greeted him with the words "Welcome to the Gestapo!" before beating him, forcing him into a "swallow" position, and threatening to rape him, demanding his phone password. The following day, Artyom was convicted under Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (allegedly for aggressive behavior upon arrival at the police station) and sentenced to 15 days in jail. However, he was not released after his arrest.

Artyom was initially charged with "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." In January 2022, he and other defendants were additionally charged with participating in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of his arrest, the channel had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups, which only happened in November 2021.

In April 2022, Artyom was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

According to human rights activists, he was expected to be released in the winter of 2026.

Evgeny is an anarchist activist. He was arrested on July 29, 2021, in Minsk. His apartment was searched, and he was beaten during his arrest. To gain access to his phone and computer, they pulled a bag over Evgeny's head.

During his transfer to the pretrial detention center, all of his books were confiscated and he was placed on a preventative register as someone prone to extremism, which entails a note in his personal file, special treatment, and additional work with a psychologist.

Evgeny was initially charged with "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." In January 2022, he and other defendants in the criminal case were additionally charged with participating in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of his arrest, the channel had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups; this only happened in November 2021.

In April 2022, Yevgeny was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. In April 2023, his detention regime was tightened, and he was transferred to a prison regime. In October 2025, the court added another year to his prison sentence for "malicious disobedience to the administration's demands."

Alexander is an activist in the anarchist movement. He first studied construction at college, then majored in engineering geodesy at the Belarusian National Technical University. He has been passionate about sports since his youth: he played for a DIY league football team, practiced Muay Thai, and went mountaineering.

Early in the morning of July 29, 2021, Alexander was detained as he left his home. He was beaten and searched during his arrest, then taken to the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption, where he was tortured and beaten.

He was initially accused of actively participating in a protest on August 23, 2020, in Minsk, although by that time he had already served an administrative arrest for this incident.

In January 2022, Alexander and other defendants in the criminal case were charged with additional membership in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of their arrest, the channel "Pramen" had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups; this was only added in November 2021.

In April 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. In April 2025, Alexander's detention regime was tightened, and he was transferred to a prison regime. It was later revealed that the court had sentenced him to an additional six months in a general regime penal colony for "malicious disobedience to the administration's demands."

Alexey was detained on July 1, 2021, in Minsk by officers from the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK). The following day, the court sentenced him to 15 days of administrative arrest, but instead of release, he was transferred to a pretrial detention center. He became a defendant in a criminal case for group actions grossly violating public order.

The case was heard under four articles of the Criminal Code: "organizing mass riots," "creating an extremist group," "inciting social hatred," and "insulting a government official." The trial was held behind closed doors, and the details of the charges are unknown.

In April 2022, the court sentenced Alexey to 11 years in prison. After the trial, pro-government channels published a video claiming that Alexey was the administrator of the Telegram chat "Cascade." A video about him had previously been filmed on TUT.BY.

In July 2023, it became known that he was in pre-trial detention, and on August 11, 2023, he was again found guilty in a new case of “creating an extremist group,” adding another 6 months to his sentence.

Tatyana is a co-founder of the Sympa school for young public administration managers, an expert in the Bipart research project, and a Master of Political Science.

She was detained in Minsk on the night of June 28-29, 2021, at the airport while going through passport control to leave the country. It is known that Tatyana was going to fly on a night flight to Tbilisi. It later became known that she was detained in connection with an initiated criminal case. Tatyana was taken to the temporary detention facility on Okrestina, and a few days later transferred to a pretrial detention center.

On February 6, 2023, the court began considering her case on charges of "aiding actions aimed at seizing power," "calling for actions that harm national security," and "inciting social hatred." On March 17 of the same year, the court sentenced Tatyana in a closed session to 10 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.

Yegor was arrested in February 2021 and later convicted of setting fire to a T-72 tank aboard a military train at the Stepyanka railway station. According to the case file, on the night of January 31, 2021, he threw a Molotov cocktail with the inscription "OGSB" at the tank. His actions were classified as an "act of terrorism." According to the prosecution, Yegor committed the arson based on his political views.

In early October 2023, it was announced that Yegor had been transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 1 in connection with a new criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation therein." In this case, he was sentenced to an additional six months in prison.

Valeria is a political scientist, founder and editor of the website of the expert community "Our Opinion", author and editor of the "Belarusian Yearbook", head of the group of experts for monitoring "Belarus in Focus".

On June 30, 2021, after a search of her home by KGB officers, Valeria was detained and placed in an isolation ward, later transferred to a pre-trial detention center.

On February 6, 2023, the court began considering her case on charges of "aiding actions aimed at seizing power," "calling for actions that harm national security," and "inciting social hatred." On March 17, 2023, the court sentenced Valeria in a closed session to 10 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.

Andrey, a maxillofacial surgeon at a children's hospital, was detained in May 2021 after a search as part of a criminal case opened under the article on "insulting the president." His wife and children were forced to leave the country. Andrey was later charged with "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order" and "participation in mass riots."

In April 2022, Andrei was convicted on four criminal charges for participating in protests that took place in Minsk in 2020 and for publications on social networks that were classified as insults and incitement of hatred.

In June 2024, his sentence was increased and he was transferred to prison until the end of his term.

Vladislav, a blogger, poet and writer, was arrested in April 2021 and convicted a year later of fraud for promising more than 100 people in 2015–2016 to take part in Belarus’s first reality shows, but failing to keep his promise. He was also found guilty of participating in three Marches in 2020 and organizing protests via Instagram. Vladislav himself only admitted to participating in the rallies.

In October 2022, he was convicted again for insulting Lukashenko in a poem included in an appeal against the verdict.

On the portal of the online store Ridero.ru, under the pseudonym Vlad Savinn, his books are presented - the story "Ambidextrous" and the collection of poems "Poetry Through", available in printed and electronic form.

Sergei, an assistant to the head of a Minsk organization, was arrested in September 2020 at his home for participating in a protest against presidential election fraud and violence against civilians that took place in Minsk on August 11, 2020. He was convicted of "participating in mass riots" and also on drug-related charges.

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On September 7, 2020, he was detained at his residence. According to the medical examination report, at the time of his arrest, he was in a state caused by the use of psychotropic substances; mephedrone was detected in his system. During a search of his apartment, law enforcement officers found a powdered substance. Investigators later concluded that Sikorsky also sold the same substance to a 46-year-old resident of Mogilev.

During the closing arguments, the state prosecutor requested the court to award Sikorsky:

• Under Part 1 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code – 2 years of imprisonment;
• Under Part 3 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code – 7 years' imprisonment and a fine of 300 basic units. By combining the penalties under the two parts of Article 328, the total sentence is 7 years' imprisonment;
• Under Part 2 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code – 5 years of imprisonment.

The final sentence is 9 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony and a fine of 300 basic units.

Alexander was detained in October 2020 and charged with participating in the events that took place on October 11, 2020, near the Pushkinskaya metro station, when people tried to protect a peaceful protester from being beaten by riot police. During his detention, he was threatened, forced to testify on video, and his leg was broken in five places. He was admitted to the pretrial detention center with a cast after interrogations.