Political prisoners

She was detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who sent parcels and letters to political prisoners.

51-year-old Sergei Zabelich from Minsk, graduated from the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Judging by Linkedin, he worked as a programmer for at least twenty years. In September 2022, he moved from Nikta Technologies to Intrahealth, an HTP resident operating in the Canadian market.

It is known that Sergei was detained on December 13, 2020, when people went out together for street marches. On this day, another 300 Belarusians were detained.

He is accused of two counts of “financing extremist activities, committed repeatedly” and “financing the activities of an extremist formation.” He faces up to eight years in prison.

On June 7, 2024, the appeal was considered, and the verdict came into force.

According to data received at different times from sources , it is known that the man was searched on December 1, 2021. And in September 2022, Chopik was first detained under Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences, but when it turned out that the man simply did not have a phone where there could be some “extremist materials”, they drew up a report under Article 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. The pretext for the protocol was a black-and-white flag taped from the inside to the window of the house - only the man himself claimed that the flag appeared after he was detained and taken to the temporary detention facility.

The last round of escalation between Chopik and the security forces occurred in early March 2024: the Brest resident was detained again. After the arrest, the man was taken to the ambulance with signs of severe beating, and Chopik’s complexion was yellow (which may indicate liver damage due to the beating). On March 28, 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that it had placed the Brest resident in a pre-trial detention center. Based on the man’s age and history (“he systematically attended criminal courts”), we can conclude that we are talking about Vitaly Chopik. He is suspected of “promoting extremist activities.”

He was detained by police on October 19, 2023. After his arrest, he served two administrative arrests of 15 days each. Human rights activists know that the second of them was appointed on November 3 by the Central District Court of Minsk. Then Judge Yuliana Shcherba found 63-year-old Marchenko guilty of “distributing extremist materials” (under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Administrative Code).

Alexander's trial began on March 25 , 2024 in the Minsk City Court.

On June 4, 2024, Alexander’s appeal was considered. The complaint was left unsatisfied.

Vitaly was found guilty under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for participation in protests in Brest on the night of August 10-11, 2020.

Vladislav was found guilty under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for participation in protests in Brest on the night of August 10-11, 2020.

On May 31, 2024, the appeal was considered and the verdict came into force.

Artem was found guilty under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for participation in protests in Brest on the night of August 10-11, 2020.

A pro-government channel showed Voronovich's arrest: at least five armed security officers wearing body armor and helmets arrived at his apartment. The Brest resident, wearing only his underwear, was thrown to the floor. In the video, the detainee says he was standing in a "linked group" on Sovetskaya Street in Brest with his brother. The brother, according to the man, is now "hiding in Poland."

Natalia Davydulina is 47 years old and is from Zhlobin. It is known from Natalia's social networks that she and her husband have a large family - five children, one of whom is still in elementary school.

One of Natalia's sons, Denis Davydulin, is a former political prisoner. He was detained in March 2021 and sentenced to a year and a half in prison for "going out onto the roadway and actively disobeying police officers" on the night of August 10.
She has never given media interviews. Court schedules show that she was tried on January 24, 2024, for “dissemination of extremist materials.” She was likely detained during a raid on those in solidarity with political prisoners.

The trial will begin on August 23 in the Gomel Regional Court. Thus, most likely, Natalia is accused of some kind of assistance to other prisoners. It is known that during the January raid, mainly those who helped others were left behind bars - they made transfers and parcels to pretrial detention centers and colonies, even for very small amounts.

Alenais accused of financing extremist activity as a result of large-scale arrests during the persecution by the authorities for supporting political prisoners and their families with the social food aid project INeedHelpBy.

Mother of former political prisoner Marina Glazova.

On August 27, 2024, the appeal was heard and the verdict came into force.

Detained for solidarity with political prisoners.

Ekaterina Mendrik is 26 years old. According to information on social networks, she was born in Lida, but moved to Grodno as a child. Ekaterina studied at the University of Warsaw and lived in Poland for a long time.

According to the court schedule, before her arrest in the criminal case, Ekaterina was convicted at least twice under political administrative protocols after crossing the border. It is unknown whether she lived abroad.

Mendrik was detained after the January raid on supporters of political prisoners, as she sent parcels and made transfers to political prisoners in pretrial detention. According to human rights activists, the detention occurred a little later, as the girl was abroad at the time of the raid - she was detained upon her return to Belarus.

A special forces detachment burst into Alexey’s home, they knocked the man to the floor and one security officer sat with his knees on Samoiluk’s body (with one knee on Samoiluk’s neck).

The pro-government channel claims that Samoiluk “threw stones at the police during the riots.” In that publication on the same channel they also posted photographs: in one picture there are two people in hoods and masks, one holding a Ukrainian flag, the second a sheet of paper with the text “Brest residents with Ukraine.”

Alexander's name appeared in the court schedule. The man is accused of donating to help Ukraine and to an “extremist group.”

It is noteworthy that the man made a donation in support of the “extremist formation” before May 2021, when there were no extremist formations in Belarus at all. Now the man faces from five to ten years in prison. The trial will begin on March 19 in the Minsk City Court.

Alexander has a small business in Molodechno: as an individual entrepreneur he is engaged in cargo transportation on his own bus. He is raising two children: a young daughter who is finishing sixth grade, and a son who should now be in high school.

Pro-government channels claim that he was detained by accident - because of a phone case with the inscription “pray for Belarus” in English and an image of national symbols. After his arrest, they allegedly found videos from protests on Dmitry’s phone, as well as photos from a yard chat, where he offers people mock-ups of protest stickers.
It is known that the guy has been swimming for a long time and has the rank of candidate master of sports.