Political persecutions

Dmitry was convicted for a comment on the Telegram channel "Punishermen of Belarus" under a photo of Valeria Taratynko, Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the Frunzensky District of Minsk. According to the prosecution, the comment humiliated her honor and dignity.

Leonid was found guilty of participating in an unauthorized protest in Minsk on September 20, 2020, by stepping onto the roadway, shouting slogans, and clapping, thereby grossly disturbing public order. He was also charged with obstructing public transportation on several streets, which resulted in the shutdown of traffic, including public transportation.

In December 2024, a court hearing was held in absentia as part of a special proceeding to replace the restriction of freedom with a sentence of imprisonment in a penal colony.

In the summer of 2021, Dmitry was accused of insulting government officials via the "Punishermen of Belarus" Telegram channel. The victims were police officers Dmitry Dedyun and Nikita Mikhalochkin; Dedyun demanded 2,000 rubles in compensation. Dmitry had previously been sentenced to two years of restricted freedom under the same article. The verdict in the second case was to be handed down after the appeal hearing of the first verdict, which took place on August 17 of that year. However, the outcome of the second case is still unknown.

Svetlana is the mother of political prisoner Igor Yermolov, sentenced to five years in a maximum-security penal colony for "preparing for mass unrest." She was accused of insulting a Minsk riot police officer, citing a Facebook comment she allegedly left, and sentenced to restricted freedom and compensation for moral damages.

Nikita was convicted for participating in a post-election protest that took place in Zhlobin on the night of August 9-10, 2020.

Anna is a journalist for the Belsat TV channel and host of the anti-fake program "Lukavie Novosti." She was detained on July 16, 2021, during mass searches of independent journalists in Minsk and other Belarusian cities. Her arrest was part of a criminal case under the article "participation in mass riots." Her apartment was searched, her equipment was seized, and Anna was then placed in a temporary detention facility. On July 23 of that year, she was released, remaining a suspect.

Later, Anna left Belarus.

Inessa is a journalist for Radio Svaboda. Previously, she worked for Belarusian Youth Radio, then for 101.2 fm. At Radio Svaboda, she covered topics in medicine, education, and social affairs, actively covering important social and political events. In September 2020, she lost her accreditation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the ministry's decision to re-accredit journalists for foreign media outlets.

On July 16, 2021, she was detained during large-scale searches of independent journalists. Ten days later, nine of which she spent on hunger strike, Inessa was released, remaining a suspect.

She later left Belarus.

Maxim was convicted of participating in "mass riots" in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests against falsifications in the presidential elections that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest. Before the trial, he was under a written undertaking not to leave the country, but at the trial on July 19, 2021, the measure of restraint was changed and he was taken into custody.

In September 2022, as part of a pardon, his sentence was replaced with "house arrest".

In March 2024, a court hearing was held regarding Maxim “on replacing the restriction of freedom without sending him to an open-type correctional facility.”

Sergei was convicted of leaving graffiti on various sites in Slonim and the Slonim district, including bus stops in the village of Shiloviči, following election fraud and the beating of peaceful protesters in 2020. One of the graffiti on an abandoned wall referred to the head of the local police department and conveyed the message: "The people will not forgive."

Timur, an activist with the "Honest People" initiative, was arrested on June 16, 2021, at the premiere of the play "White Rabbit, Red Rabbit" and convicted twice under administrative law. After 30 days of administrative arrest, he was not released and was transferred to a pretrial detention center as part of a criminal case opened under the article "Organization and preparation of actions grossly violating public order, or active participation therein."

In September 2021, he was found guilty and sentenced to restricted freedom and sent to an open correctional facility.

Timur left Belarus before starting to serve his sentence.

Anastasia was convicted in July 2021 for participating in post-election protests that took place in Minsk in August–September 2020.

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.

Vladimir, a lawyer for the Viasna human rights center and coordinator of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign, was detained along with his wife on July 14, 2021, following a search of their apartment. He was taken to the Financial Investigation Department and then to the Investigative Committee for questioning, after which he was remanded in custody for tax evasion.

In September 2022, the case under this article was dismissed, but new charges were brought against Vladimir: smuggling and financing group actions that grossly violate public order.

Vladimir is a finalist for the 2022 Belarusian Human Rights Community Award in the Human Rights Defender of the Year category.

In March 2023, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to pay substantial compensation. He pleaded not guilty in court.

According to available information, the conditions of detention were tightened, and Vladimir was transferred to a prison regime.

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 Ukraine.

Evgenia, a volunteer with the human rights center "Vesna" and a Russian citizen, was detained as she left her home on July 14, 2021, and taken to the Investigative Committee as part of a criminal case.

She was released on July 17, 2021, on her own recognizance, remaining a suspect. She subsequently left Belarus.

Sergey, the director of the Supolnasts Center, was arrested on July 14, 2021, in a village where he was vacationing with his wife. His home was searched twice, and after questioning, he was detained in connection with a criminal case opened under the articles "Organization and preparation of actions grossly violating public order, or active participation in such actions" and "Tax and fee evasion."

After 72 hours, Sergei was released on bail.