Political persecutions

Moderator of the "Žodzina for Life" telegram channel. Lidziya was detained on March 27th, 2021 right from her home, where she was with her 1.5-year-old child. She is accused of coordinating "backyard" protest movements, of calling for active actions, and of insulting police officers.

Maria, the director of the public school of the Union of Poles in Vawkavysk, was detained as part of a criminal case on the "rehabilitation of Nazism." According to the prosecutor's office, since 2018, "illegal events" have been held with the participation of minors, at which "anti-Soviet figures were honored," which, according to the investigation, "pursued the goal of justifying the genocide of the Belarusian people."

At the end of May 2021, Maria was released and deported to Poland.

Irena, the head of the Lida branch of the Union of Poles, was detained as part of a criminal case on the "rehabilitation of Nazism." According to the prosecutor's office, since 2018, "illegal events" have been held with the participation of minors, at which "anti-Soviet figures were honored," which, according to the investigation, "pursued the goal of justifying the genocide of the Belarusian people."

At the end of May 2021, Irena was released and deported to Poland.

Anna was detained and convicted for participating in a protest against violence in the country and the falsification of the presidential elections - the Unity March, which took place in Grodno on September 6, 2020.

Roberto, a Cuban-born graphic designer, has lived in Belarus for 30 years and has a family and children. He was detained on November 8, 2020, before the start of a protest against violence and the results of the presidential elections in Minsk and received 15 days of administrative arrest.

However, after serving his sentence, he was not released - the man was held in a temporary detention facility for more than a year, after which they tried to deport him to Cuba via Moscow. However, in Russia, he did not board a plane and managed to evacuate to Lithuania.

Anna, director of the Polish School LLC in Brest, was detained in March 2021 upon her return to Belarus as part of a criminal case on the "glorification of war criminals". The reason for the investigation was an "illegal mass event" in memory of the "damned soldiers" that took place on February 28 in a building rented by the Brest Forum of Polish Local Initiatives and the Polish School.

At the end of May 2021, Anna was released and deported to Poland.

Olga was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest on September 13, 2020 in Brest, where people sang and danced in circles and a water cannon was used against them. She was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order."

Anastasia was detained and convicted for, according to investigators, scattering about 45 metal screws near the Minsk prosecutor's office on December 13, 2020. As a result, the car driven by the victim Klintsevich ran over them, and two tires were punctured.

She was released after serving her full sentence as determined by the court and deported to the Russian Federation in November 2021.

Igor, a Minsk resident, a citizen of the Russian Federation and a reserve officer, was arrested and convicted for filling the front door of the apartment of Tatyana Oboznaya, an employee of the internal affairs agencies, with polyurethane foam, who falsely commented on the death of Roman Bondarenko, who was killed by security forces. He was also accused of writing an offensive inscription on her mailbox.

He was released after serving his full sentence as determined by the court and deported to the Russian Federation on March 12, 2022.

Alexander, a BMZ employee and musician, was convicted of organizing a strike at the plant, which took place on August 17, 2020 in Zhlobin.

In September 2021, it became known that as part of the pardon, Alexander's preventive measure was changed to "house arrest".

Oleg was arrested on January 6, 2021, and convicted of insulting a public official. The court ruled that the sentence would be suspended, so he was released in the courtroom.

Denis was arrested in December 2020 and convicted for participating in protests.

Well-known translator and English teacher Olga was detained on January 15, 2021 and convicted for allegedly hitting STV employee Grigory Azarenok during one of the protests in Minsk.

Yaroslav was detained on September 25, 2020, on charges of participating in a protest on the night of August 10-11, 2020, near the Riga shopping center in Minsk. He was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." The court also ordered the confiscation of his personal car to the state, considering it a means of committing a crime.

In January 2022, he was pardoned: his sentence was replaced with “house arrest”.

Danila was detained in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place on September 13, 2020 in Brest, where people sang and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them. He was convicted of "participation in group actions that grossly violate public order." According to the prosecution, the downtime of the trolleybus and bus depots caused damage in the amount of about 660 Belarusian rubles.

He was released on October 23, 2021, having fully served his sentence, and deported to the Russian Federation.