Political prisoners

Anna, a Belarusian Railways employee, was detained in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case brought against factory employees who supported the strike and were part of the "Rabochy Rukh" (Workers' Movement) initiative. On September 21, 2021, this initiative was designated an extremist organization, following which mass arrests of workers took place across the country.

In February 2023, Anna was found guilty of treason and the creation of and participation in an extremist group and sentenced to imprisonment.

Sergei, a Belarusian Railways employee, was arrested in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case brought against factory employees who supported the strike and were part of the "Rabochy Rukh" (Workers' Movement) initiative. On September 21, 2021, this initiative was designated an extremist organization, following which mass arrests of workers took place across the country.

In February 2023, Sergei was found guilty of treason and the creation of and participation in an extremist group and sentenced to imprisonment.

Valentin, an assistant foreman at the Khimvolokno plant, part of Grodno Azot , and deputy chairman of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union of Grodno Azot, was arrested in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case brought against plant employees who supported the strike and were part of the "Workers' Movement" initiative. On September 21, 2021, this initiative was designated an extremist organization, following which mass arrests of workers took place across the country.

In February 2023, Valentina was found guilty of treason and the creation of and participation in an extremist group and sentenced to imprisonment.

In October 2024, another court hearing took place, following which Valentin was transferred to prison.

Vladimir, a former control room operator at the Ammonia-3 plant at the Grodno Azot plant, was arrested in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case brought against plant employees who supported the strike and were part of the "Workers' Movement" initiative. On September 21, 2021, this initiative was designated an extremist organization, following which mass arrests of workers took place across the country.

In February 2023, Vladimir was found guilty of slander, treason, and the creation of and participation in an extremist group and sentenced to imprisonment.

In November 2023, another court hearing took place, following which Vladimir was transferred to prison.

Andrei, a former maintenance worker in the Ammonia-3 workshop at the Grodno Azot plant, was arrested in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case brought against plant employees who supported the strike and were part of the "Workers' Movement" initiative. On September 21, 2021, this initiative was designated an extremist organization, following which mass arrests of workers took place across the country.

In February 2023, Andrei was found guilty of slander, treason, and the creation of and participation in an extremist group and sentenced to imprisonment.

Sergei, a former operator in the Ammonia-3 workshop at the Grodno Azot plant, was arrested in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case brought against plant employees who supported the strike and were part of the "Rabochy Rukh" (Workers' Movement) initiative, which was designated an extremist organization on September 21, 2021, following which mass arrests of workers took place across the country.

In February 2023, Sergei was found guilty of slander, treason, and the creation of and participation in an extremist group and sentenced to imprisonment.

In the fall of 2024, another court hearing took place, following which Sergei was transferred to prison.

Alexander, a former legal adviser to Naftan OJSC, a subsidiary of the Polimir plant, was detained in September 2021 in Russia while attempting to travel to Warsaw. En route from Voronezh, FSB officers checked his documents, and, knowing he would be detained in Moscow, he jumped from a train, suffering a broken leg and a dislocated arm. He made it to the Ukrainian border. While attempting to cross legally, he was detained, handed over to KGB officers, and placed in pretrial detention as part of a criminal case against plant employees who supported the strike and were members of the Workers' Movement (Rabochy Rukh). This initiative was deemed extremist on September 21, 2021, and simultaneously, workers were arrested across the country.

In February 2023, he was found guilty of "illegal actions with firearms," "treason," and "creation of and participation in an extremist group," and sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.

In April 2023, Alexander was among the top three finalists for the international human rights prize, the Global Advocacy Award.

In April 2024, another court hearing took place, following which Alexander was transferred to prison.

Anastasia was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article “act of terrorism”, and in June 2023 she was convicted under several criminal articles.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Vladislav was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article “act of terrorism”.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Vladislav was sentenced under numerous criminal articles to a long term of imprisonment, the first five years of which were in prison. He was also stripped of his military rank.

Vitaly was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article "act of terrorism", and in June 2023 he was sentenced under numerous criminal articles to a long term of imprisonment, the first five years of which were in prison.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Olga was detained in August 2021 as part of a criminal case initiated under the article "act of terrorism" and convicted in June 2023 under several criminal articles.

According to the indictment, from July 2020 to January 2022, an "organized criminal group" allegedly preparing extremist crimes operated in Belarus, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and other countries. It included radical military personnel, security officials, athletes and businessmen who sought to seize power illegally. This case is related to the attempted arson of the house of MP Oleg Gaidukevich in June 2021 and the "organization of mass riots."

Vyacheslav was arrested in the summer of 2021 as part of a criminal case opened under the articles "inciting hatred or discord" and "illegal collection and dissemination of information about private life."

In March 2022, he was convicted of transmitting information about law enforcement officials to an opposition Telegram channel. Vyacheslav was also stripped of his special rank of "lieutenant colonel of justice" in the reserves.

Pavel was first convicted in May 2021 for "insulting Lukashenko" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony. He was released in May 2022, having served his full sentence.

Pavel was detained again in the spring of 2024 on suspicion of collaborating with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. This was reported on the program "All About the Case" on the state-run television channel Belarus 4. Mogilev. In the published video, Pavel claims to have filmed the deployment of Iskander missiles to pass on to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and also reads a text presented as an oath of allegiance to Ukraine.

In November 2024, he faced a series of court hearings under the articles "participation in an armed group or armed conflict, military operations on the territory of a foreign state, recruitment or training of persons for such participation" and "treason." The outcome of the cases is unknown.

Natalia was arrested in June 2021 on suspicion of planning to set fire to logging equipment. The arrest took place in the evening right on the forestry farm grounds, where she allegedly arrived with her accomplice, Gordeyev, who was actually on assignment from state security agencies.

According to the prosecution, on the evening of June 8, 2021, Natalia and this man prepared Molotov cocktails, which they planned to use to set fire to the equipment. However, the crime was not completed—Natalia was detained before the arson could be committed.

In court, Natalia testified that she had found herself in a difficult situation: in August 2020, an acquaintance of hers was arrested, she had lost her father, and was experiencing difficulties at work. She also confirmed that she had indeed been a member of the "OGSB" chat group and had intended to destroy logging equipment at the forestry enterprise.

In December 2022, she was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a general regime penal colony with a large fine.

Artyom, an anarchist activist, was detained on August 4, 2021, by GUBOPiK officers. Upon arrest, they greeted him with the words "Welcome to the Gestapo!" before beating him, forcing him into a "swallow" position, and threatening to rape him, demanding his phone password. The following day, Artyom was convicted under Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (allegedly for aggressive behavior upon arrival at the police station) and sentenced to 15 days in jail. However, he was not released after his arrest.

Artyom was initially charged with "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." In January 2022, he and other defendants were additionally charged with participating in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of his arrest, the channel had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups, which only happened in November 2021.

In April 2022, Artyom was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

According to human rights activists, he was expected to be released in the winter of 2026.