Political persecutions

Denis was arrested on August 5, 2021, in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them," and was placed in a temporary detention facility for three days. He was subsequently released on personal recognizance.

In October 2021, Denis was convicted of posting the following message in the "Minsk 97%" Telegram chat on September 8, 2020: "Urgent, drivers on Masherov Street! Block traffic, prevent security forces from gathering, help the protesters!"

Initially, he was held at Okrestina. He was then arrested under the Criminal Code. Those close to him note that Denis is a good, honest, fair, and compassionate guy. On pro-government channels, Denis is called the "chief visual editor" of the "Supratsіў" movement's videos. In the video, Salmanovich says he was detained by police 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 of imprisonment.

Denis suffers from a serious illness: chronic glomerulonephritis following hemorrhagic vasculitis. In the summer of 2024, he was taken from the penal colony by ambulance. Salmanovich underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder. After the surgery, he remained in the prison's medical unit for another week until his stitches were removed.

The political prisoner's mother says Denis last contacted her in mid-November 2024. After the call, he was immediately taken to solitary confinement, where he remains to this day (January 2024).

In April 2025, his sentence was increased and he was transferred to a prison regime.

On September 16, 2026, he was released after a visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Lithuania.

A resident of the village of Ilyich, Rogachev district. Detained under Articles 130 and 369 of the Criminal Code. On September 1, 2022, a verdict was passed: the political prisoner was found guilty and sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment in a general regime colony.

On April 26, 2023, the Gomel Regional Court began hearing a new criminal case against a political prisoner. The political prisoner was transferred to Pre-trial Detention Center No. 3 .

As a result of the second trial, Andrey was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony. The trial was held behind closed doors on May 22, 2023.

On September 11, 2025, it became known that 52 prisoners of the Belarusian regime were forcibly transferred to the territory of Lithuania. Among them are citizens of European countries. Among those released is Andrei Stepankov.

Andrey, editor of the website "Virtual Brest," was found guilty in October 2021 of "insulting a government official" for a comment he left in the Telegram chat "Discussing Dangerous Brest" under a photo of House of Representatives member Igor Marzalyuk.

Tatyana was found guilty in October 2021 of "insulting a judge" for, according to investigators, writing an "offensive inscription" on the mailbox door of Brest Regional Court Judge Ruslana Albertovna Senko on December 18, 2020, "intending it would be read and perceived repeatedly." Tatyana pleaded not guilty.

Renata was detained on November 1, 2020, at a protest in Minsk. A criminal case was subsequently opened against her for "organizing or actively participating in group actions that grossly violate public order." She was detained again while attempting to cross the border and placed in pretrial detention pending trial.

In January 2021, Renata was found guilty and sentenced to restricted freedom.

Maria, a volunteer with the Gomel branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center, was detained late in the evening of January 18, 2021, and placed in a temporary detention facility as part of a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them." Her home was also searched. Maria had previously actively advocated for the repeal of the so-called "parasite" decree and sued district officials in the Gomel region who had banned protests against the decree.

She was released three days later on her own recognizance. Maria's trial began on September 3, 2021, and on October 13, prosecutors requested a prison sentence of two and a half years. Maria was subsequently forced to leave Belarus, and her case was separated into separate proceedings.

Yulia, the chief accountant of the IT company PandaDoc, was detained on September 2, 2020, at the company's office on charges of fraud by employees of the Financial Investigation Department.

Following the events of August 2020, PandaDoc founder Nikita Mikado launched the Protect Belarus initiative to support dismissed law enforcement officers who refused to follow illegal orders. The initiative received over 500 applications and attracted public attention.

Yulia was released in October 2020 on bail.

Yulia was detained and convicted for installing a scarecrow, which, according to investigators, resembled Lukashenko, in the regional center on Varshavskoe Shosse.

In November 2024, a court hearing was held regarding Yulia to replace the restriction of freedom with imprisonment in a penal colony.

Olga, an activist of the Country for Life project and a member of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s initiative group, took part in protests after the presidential elections and was repeatedly detained.

On November 15, 2020, she was detained in the courtyard of the "Square of Changes", where peaceful protesters gathered for a rally in memory of Roman Bondarenko, killed by security forces, under the slogan "I'm coming out". After that, a criminal case was opened against Olga.

In February 2021, she was convicted of “participating in group actions that grossly violate public order.” She left Belarus some time later.

In October 2024, a court hearing was held in absentia to replace the restriction of freedom with imprisonment in a penal colony.

Stanislav, a Ukrainian citizen, was arrested in May 2021 as part of a criminal case opened following the spontaneous protests that took place in Brest on August 10, 2020, against election fraud. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."

He was released in June 2025, having fully served his sentence, and was forcibly deported to Latvia with a ban on entry to Belarus for a period of five years.

Diana was found guilty in October 2021 of "insulting Lukashenko" for a comment she left in the Telegram group "Klichev-chat." The court sentenced her to a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Alexander was found guilty in October 2021 of "insulting a government official" for a comment he left on VKontakte under a post about how police officers Sergei Vladimirovich Shramov and Alexander Leonidovich Shlupakov "sacrificed their lives" while removing white-red-white balloons.

Alexander was found guilty in October 2021 of "insulting a government official" for a comment he left on the social media site Odnoklassniki under a photograph of Drogichin District Department of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption (OBEP) detective Yuri Chernyshkov. Chernyshkov claimed that on August 10, 2020, the officer had punched and kicked a young woman in a public square and then handed her over to a riot police officer.

Vadim was found guilty of "insulting a government official" for comments left on the social network VKontakte in February 2021 under photographs of police officers Alexander Leonidovich Shlupakov and Sergei Vladimirovich Shramov.