Political prisoners

Violeta graduated from school in Minsk and entered the Warsaw Academy of Arts. The girl is interested in photography and loves traveling.

Three years ago she got married and changed her last name. The couple became famous because the guy, former football player Fedor Verbitsky, proposed to the girl right at the stadium after the end of the game.

The criminal case was prompted by a video the family made in the summer of 2020 calling for an end to violence. Father Gennady testified in court that one day in the summer of 2020, emotionally affected by the data he saw online about the violence used by the officers against protesters, he decided to record a video addressing the officers calling for a justified use of force. He came up with the text of the speech and then asked his daughter to read it. He also asked his wife to speak out about the elections. On the same day, he expressed his wishes for the future of the country on video, and at the end of his speech, he also showed a heart symbol. After that, he found videos on the Internet and edited the video. On the same day, he sent it to several of his friends and relatives.

Irina worked as a sales specialist and then as a manager at Anastan. She was convicted along with her daughter and husband.

The criminal case was prompted by a video the family made in the summer of 2020 calling for an end to violence. Gennady, the husband, testified in court that one day in the summer of 2020, emotionally affected by the data he saw online about the violence used by the officers against protesters, he decided to record a video addressing the officers with a call for a justified use of force. He came up with the text of the speech and then asked his daughter to read it. He also asked his wife to speak out about the elections. On the same day, he expressed his wishes for the future of the country on video, and at the end of his speech, he also showed a heart symbol. After that, he found videos on the Internet and edited the video. On the same day, he sent it to several of his friends and relatives.

Entrepreneur. His business is JSC Anastan, a large company engaged in the production of polystyrene foam.

The criminal case was prompted by a video the family made in the summer of 2020 calling for an end to violence. Gennady testified in court that one day in the summer of 2020, emotionally affected by the data he saw online about the violence used by the officers against protesters, he decided to record a video addressing the officers calling for a justified use of force. He came up with the text of the speech and then asked his daughter to read it. He also asked his wife to speak out about the elections. On the same day, he expressed his wishes for the future of the country on video, and at the end of his speech, he also showed a heart symbol. After that, he found videos on the Internet and edited the video. On the same day, he sent it to several of his friends and relatives.

Victoria from Minsk, graduated from medical college. At first she worked in state clinics, then in the medical center "Sinevo".

A person who knows Svetlana from college said that she was not interested in politics during her student years and was never a public activist. However, the events of 2020 changed the lives of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Belarusians beyond recognition. And Veras was no exception.

It is unknown when Victoria was detained.

Olga Rodionova worked until 2020 at KYKY.org, primarily for the "Pain" section, and also collaborated as a freelancer with Belarusian and foreign media.

During her detention in Pretrial Detention Center No. 1, Olga was sent for a psychiatric examination to the hospital in Novinki. Olga's sick mother , who is over 80 years old , requires constant care .

Daniil Polyansky is a Brest journalist. In early September, Polyansky went to Russia to visit relatives. On the way, there was an incident with Russian security forces. His car was stopped by FSB officers and he was accused of an administrative violation for disobedience - allegedly he refused to show documents.

"Danil said that at that time his passport was in the hands of a Russian security officer," says one of Polyansky's acquaintances. "Later, when he returned to Brest, he was detained by KGB officers."

Initially it was assumed that he was detained for some administrative violation. But it became known that a criminal case had been opened.

Danil Polyansky is 53 years old. As a videographer, he once collaborated with state and commercial TV channels, as well as with independent regional sites. In recent years, he was known in Brest as a volunteer for the search and rescue squad "Angel".

Nakanishi Masatoshi is a citizen of Japan. On September 4, 2024, it became known that he was detained in Belarus. He was detained back in July 2024, but the details of his persecution were only revealed now in a BT story. Nakanishi is being held in a KGB pretrial detention center on charges of "intelligence activities" (Article 358-1 of the Criminal Code). The Japanese citizen faces up to seven years in prison in Belarus.

Immediately after the story aired on BT, Tokyo lodged a protest with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that the content of the program violated human rights.

According to the court, the essence of the charge against everyone was that on August 10, 2020, people in Brest "shouted slogans, demonstrated white-red-white banners, deliberately obstructed the movement of vehicles and the normal functioning of enterprises." In doing so, they allegedly grossly violated public order.

In addition to her previous conviction under Article 328, she received 11 years in prison and a fine.

Dmitry Bulanov is 32 years old. He is from Brest and has been playing chess all his life. He currently ranks 28th among all Belarusian players and has the title of FIDE Master.

In 2020, Dmitry and his colleagues created the Free Chess Players of Belarus group and began performing under the white-red-white flag. Together with the team, which includes some of the strongest Belarusian chess players, they won the Chess Bundesliga twice.

In July 2023, Dmitry was detained by the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. He is accused of participating in protests, registering in the Peramoga plan, and sending extremist materials (but security forces often force people to incriminate themselves on camera). The man was released after three days in the temporary detention facility on his own recognizance.

A sole proprietor. According to the prosecution, he allegedly left negative comments about Russia after the terrorist attack at Crocus Hall and called for bombing Russian cities.

Andrey was detained in March. Pro-government channels published a "repentant" video of him.

Vladislav is 49 years old, and his wife, Tatyana, is 44. The family lives in Baranovichi. They have a school-age son at home. They also have a daughter who recently turned 18.

BELPOL reported that, according to 2005 records, Tatyana worked at the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant as a technician. Vladislav is a military man. According to 2019 records, he worked at the 61st Fighter Air Base in Baranovichi (military unit 54804).

It's unclear exactly what the Koshcheyevs are accused of. They are likely being held in custody, as their last social media activity was in 2023.

Tatyana, 44, was detained together with her husband. The family lives in Baranovichi. They have two children, the youngest son is still a minor.

According to data for 2005, Tatyana worked at the "558th Aircraft Repair Plant" as a technician. Vladislav is a military man. According to data for 2019, he worked at the "61st Fighter Air Base in Baranovichi" (military unit 54804).

It is not known exactly what the Koshcheyevs are accused of. They are likely being held in custody, as their last social media activity was in 2023.

A retired military man, a reserve lieutenant colonel who served in the strategic missile forces, a former teacher at the Military School, and a member of the People's Hramada party.

During the 2020 presidential election campaign, Yakushkov was tried twice for "participating in unauthorized events" - for participating in pickets to collect signatures for Svetlana Tikhanovskaya; both times the court sentenced the man to "days in prison."