Political persecutions

Matvey was found guilty in December 2021 of a criminal case brought under the article "insulting a government official" and sentenced to restricted freedom without being sent to an open correctional facility.

According to the investigation, in October 2020, Irina made an emotional comment on a Telegram channel about two police officers she knew: Andrei Sebetsky, deputy chief of the Leninsky District Police Department in Bobruisk, and Sergei Rudko, head of the law enforcement and crime prevention department of the Bobruisk City Executive Committee's Internal Affairs Directorate.

A few days later, they came to search her and informed her that a criminal case had been opened.

In May 2021, Irina was found guilty of "insulting a government official" and sentenced to restricted freedom. She was also ordered to pay compensation for moral damages to the "victims." In court, Irina confirmed that she had left the comment but noted that she did not consider it offensive.

Marina, a volunteer with the Society for Assistance to Homeless Animals, was found guilty in September 2021 of a criminal case filed under the article "insulting a government official." According to the case file, in September 2020, she left a comment on a friend's VKontakte page about a guard at the Shklov Correctional Colony.

The comment was prompted by a publication featuring a photograph of police officers in balaclavas. Marina recognized one of them as her neighbor, who, she said, participated in the dispersal of protests following the presidential elections on August 9, 2020.

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Alexander was found guilty in a criminal case brought under the article "insulting a government official" and sentenced to restricted freedom without being sent to an open correctional facility.

Kristina was found guilty in February 2021 of "desecration of buildings and damage to property" for painting artistic images and inscriptions, including symbols and slogans of solidarity, in various locations in Skidel, the Grodno region, and nearby villages.

Andrei, an artist, was found guilty in February 2021 of desecration of buildings and property for painting images and graffiti, including symbols and solidarity slogans, in various locations in Skidel, the Grodno region, and nearby towns.

Nikolai was found guilty in June 2021 of a criminal case opened for "insulting Lukashenko." The case stemmed from remarks he made about Lukashenko in a traffic police vehicle, where he was placed for not having a reflector. The conversation was recorded on a dashcam.

In court, Nikolai admitted his guilt and refused to testify. He had previously attributed his statements to dissatisfaction with the state of the streets and uncleared sidewalks.

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Andrei was arrested on November 16, 2021, and sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest five times in a row for "unauthorized picketing." Trials were held on November 18 and 29, and December 17, 23, and 28. On December 30, a criminal case was opened against Andrei at the Vitebsk temporary detention center for "insulting Lukashenko." On January 25, 2022, he and three other defendants in the case were transferred to Novopolotsk and released on their own recognizance.

For safety reasons, Andrey left the country.

Vitaly was found guilty in November 2021 of a criminal case brought under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them," for participating in a post-election protest that took place from August 9 to 10, 2020, in Minsk.

Pavel was found guilty in January 2022 of a criminal case brought under the article "desecration of structures and damage to property" for painting approximately 50 inscriptions and images, including "Long Live Belarus," "3%," and white-red-white flags, on infrastructure facilities and garages of the Substroy consumer cooperative.

Dmitry was found guilty in January 2022 of a criminal case brought under the article "desecration of structures and damage to property" for painting approximately 50 inscriptions and images, including "Long Live Belarus," "3%," and white-red-white flags, on infrastructure facilities and garages of the Substroy consumer cooperative.

Igor was found guilty in January 2022 of a criminal case brought under the article "desecration of structures and damage to property" for painting approximately 50 inscriptions and images, including "Long Live Belarus," "3%," and white-red-white flags, on infrastructure facilities and garages of the Substroy consumer cooperative.

Valentin was arrested in August 2021 as part of a criminal case opened under three criminal articles.

In January 2022, he was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony for "social media posts calling for street protests and active resistance if they were suppressed," as well as for filming a protest on August 12, 2020, on Cosmonauts Avenue in Grodno, a video of which he posted online with his own commentary.

On December 13, 2025, he was released following a visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Ukraine.

Initially, a criminal case was opened against Lyudmila for "insulting government officials," but it was later reclassified as "slander." The charges stemmed from a repost.

In December 2020, Lyudmila saw a post about local police officer Sergei Urodnich on the "Black Book of Belarus" Telegram channel and reposted it to the "Pruzhany/Pruzhana" chat with the caption: "Our handsome guy."

In court, she stated, "Your president calls you 'handsome,' and I called him the same thing your president calls him. How did I insult him?" She pleaded not guilty and refused to testify.

In May 2022, Lyudmila was found guilty and sentenced to restricted freedom without being sent to an open correctional facility, and was also ordered to pay compensation for moral damages to the "victim."

The period of "house arrest" ended in 2023.

After serving her sentence, the pressure on Lyudmila did not cease, and she was forced to leave Belarus.

Evgeny was arrested on December 8, 2021, and sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. The arrest was precipitated by the discovery of a wallet with a Pogonya logo during a search. Evgeny was not released after serving his administrative arrest, as a criminal case had been opened against him for "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation therein."

In March 2022, Yevhen was convicted of participating in a post-election protest that took place in Minsk on October 25, 2020. Photos from the protest were found on his mobile phone, showing him with a white-red-white flag draped over his shoulders.

Left Belarus before starting to serve his sentence.

In October 2024, a court hearing in absentia was held as part of a special proceeding on the issue of replacing a restriction of freedom with a referral to an open-type correctional facility with imprisonment.