Political prisoners

Former lecturer at the Department of Communications at BSUIR. This department is designed to train career officers for the Armed Forces and other security agencies and departments of the Republic of Belarus. Nikolai was initially sentenced to administrative arrest, and then re-arrested as part of a criminal case. He was convicted for three donations that the man made in August 2020.

From the moment he was transferred to the colony, Mikhail served 180 days in a punishment cell, then was placed in a PKT.

As of April 2025, he was transferred to prison regime in Prison No. 4 .

in custody since June 1, 2021. He refused a lawyer, as he is confident that he can successfully defend himself.

Andrei Novitsky was found guilty of participating in the marches on September 27, 2020, holding a white-red-white flag in his outstretched arms, and publicly shouting slogans. He also took part in the march on October 11 on Kalvariyskaya Street and Pobediteley Avenue, where, among other things , he "put a white-red-white flag on his shoulders and demonstrated a clenched fist with his arm extended upward." He is accused of similar actions in connection with the events of October 25. He was also found guilty of insulting Lukashenko on YouTube no later than December 7, 2020. Andrei Novitsky was also convicted of purchasing a bulk substance no later than January 27, 2021, and illegally storing and transporting it without notifying the authorized bodies.

On June 13, 2022, a trial under Article 411 was held in the court of the Bobruisk district and the city of Bobruisk, as a result of which the political prisoner was given another four months of imprisonment and the regime was changed from enhanced to strict.

On January 17, 2023, the political prisoner was again tried under Article 411 of the Criminal Code. The verdict is unknown.

Transferred to Penal Colony No. 20 .

Since April 2024 and as of the beginning of December of the same year, relatives know nothing about Andrei; in response to their request to the colony administration, they received a formal reply , according to which the political prisoner, allegedly, will tell everything himself “through correspondence”, but there are no letters from him.

Since 2020, Elena has been subjected to systematic persecution for political reasons: she has been detained and arrested under administrative articles 17 times, and has been fined a total of 173 basic units. Her home has been searched several times.

In May 2021, Elena was convicted of "participating in group actions that grossly violate public order" in a criminal case opened after a protest on September 13, 2020 in Brest, where participants sang songs and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them. According to the prosecution, the protest disrupted the operation of transport. She was sentenced to restriction of freedom without being sent to an institution.

In September of the same year, Elena was convicted again for “insulting Lukashenko.” The combined sentences amounted to three years of “house arrest.”

In January 2022, she was arrested for "violating the serving of a sentence" and sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. However, she was never released - she was transferred to a pretrial detention center as part of a new criminal case initiated for slandering Lukashenko and discrediting the Republic of Belarus. In June, she was sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.

In April 2023, Elena was convicted again under the article "malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration." This article is often applied to prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration, for fictitious violations.

It is known that physical and psychological pressure is constantly applied to Elena. She is regularly placed in solitary confinement and PKT, deprived of almost all parcels, calls, visits, and her merchandise allowance was reduced from three basic units to one.

In February 2025, Polina Sharendo-Panasyuk reported that Elena had been placed in the PKT again: “After several weeks in the punishment cell, she was transferred to the PKT. It is 99% likely that Article 411 will be fabricated against her again.”

Nikolai is the leader of the unregistered Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada), a former presidential candidate, a retired lieutenant colonel, and a PhD in engineering. He was one of the founders of the Belarusian Military Association. He has been imprisoned multiple times for political reasons.

In the 1990s, he organized protests, including the Minsk Spring and the 1999 march.

In 2004, he led street protests against referendum fraud, after which he was sentenced in 2005 to three years of restricted freedom. Due to an amnesty announced in honor of the 60th anniversary of Victory Day, his sentence was reduced by one year. In 2010, he participated in the presidential campaign and protests in Minsk, after which he was arrested and sentenced in 2011 to six years in a maximum-security penal colony. In January 2012 and May 2015, his sentence was increased, resulting in his imprisonment. He was released in August 2015 as part of a pardon.

After his release, he continued his political activity and participation in street protests. In 2016, the Belarusian National Congress was founded on his initiative. In 2020, he spoke out in support of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , the wife of another unregistered candidate, social blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky . Nikolai was detained again on May 31, 2020, on his way to her election picket. He initially received 15 days of administrative arrest but was never released. Subsequently, in December 2021, he was convicted of criminal charges of "organizing mass riots."

According to human rights activists, the defendants in the case are required to pay compensation in the amount of 29 million rubles.

On September 11, 2025, it was reported that 52 prisoners of the Belarusian regime had been forcibly transferred to Lithuania. Among those released was Mikalai Statkevich. However, Mikalai refused to leave Belarus, and had to kick down the bus doors to do so. After waiting for several hours in the neutral zone, he returned to Belarus. It was only two months later that he was re-arrested. His exact whereabouts are unknown.

Viktor is a Belarusian businessman and public figure. He founded the international foundation "Chance", initiated the projects "Teart" and "Art-Belarus", thanks to which works of art were returned to the country. Under his leadership, Belgazprombank became one of the largest banks in Belarus. In 2020, he put forward his candidacy in the presidential elections, which attracted widespread support, as a result of which in June 2020 he was arrested and later convicted on economic charges.

Vladimir, a former security officer and volunteer for presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's team, was arrested on June 4, 2020 and convicted in June 2021 in the "Tikhanovsky case." The criminal case was opened after a picket that took place on May 29, 2020, in Grodno, where Sergei Tikhanovsky and his supporters were detained.

In 2022, Vladimir was transferred to prison regime.

In July 2023, he was convicted again for “malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration.”

Since September 2023, Vladimir has been held incommunicado, placed in a cell-type facility (PKT), and regularly issued new disciplinary violations. He has also been deprived of packages, visits, and phone calls.

In February 2025, the third trial took place under the article "malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration." Under this article, prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration are tried on the basis of alleged violations. As a result, his total prison term was 6 years.

Anarchist activist Alexander was detained on August 12, 2020 and convicted on a number of criminal charges. Earlier, in 2010, he had already served a sentence in the "anarchist case".

In 2022, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison, and in February 2023, the Supreme Court reduced the term by 3 months.

In June 2024, Alexander was again charged under the article for "malicious disobedience to the demands of the colony administration," and he was given another year of imprisonment.

In July 2024, his mother, Tatyana Frantskevich, was arrested on charges of "participation in an extremist group." Her sister, Natalia Lobatsevich, the mother of former political prisoner Ilya Lobatsevich, was arrested along with her.

Lawyer and member of the presidium of the Coordination Council for the Resolution of the Political Crisis.

Maxim was detained on September 9, 2020 and charged with conspiracy and extremist activities, including public calls to seize power and actions threatening national security, using the media and the Internet.

Maria, a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council and head of Viktor Babariko's headquarters, was kidnapped on September 7, 2020, and taken to the Belarusian-Ukrainian border for deportation. She tore up her passport and refused to leave the country. On September 9, she was detained and taken into custody.

In September 2021, she was convicted under the articles: “conspiracy to seize power by unconstitutional means,” “calls for action against national security,” and “creation of an extremist group.”

In November 2022, Maria underwent surgery due to a perforated ulcer and peritonitis. Since March 2023, she was in the PKT. Due to health problems, she did not work, she was even accompanied to the formations.

Maria was kept incommunicado for a long time. In the summer of 2024, it became known that the administration had isolated her from other prisoners, with guards constantly with her. On November 12, 2024, she met her father for the first time in 18 months.

The meeting took place in a prison hospital, and it is not known for sure whether she was being treated or was brought there from the PKT. Before this, there had been no communication from Maria, and her condition became known only from the words of other prisoners.

Following this meeting, she was again cut off from communication with the outside world and continues to be kept incommunicado.

In February 2025, her sister reported that Maria had been returned to the unit and expressed hope that communication would be restored.

A  team member of  YouTube channel  «Country for Life» team, RV driver, lived in a city of Staryia Darohi, Minsk region.

Detained during a picket for collecting signatures in support of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Grodno on May 29, 2020.

On July 13, 2023, it became known that the political prisoner was transferred to a prison regime for a period of 2 years. Alexander was offered several times to write an application for pardon, but he refused.