Political prisoners

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 detained for transferring the data of representatives of law enforcement agencies to the telegram channel.

resident of Mogilev, convicted of insulting Lukashenko.

On May 24, 2022, he was released after fully serving the sentence imposed by the court.

Pavel Churkin was detained again in the spring of 2024 on suspicion of collaboration with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. This was discussed in the program “Everything is on point” on the state TV channel “BELARUS 4 Mogilev”.

During the arrest, Churkin said on camera that he was filming the deployment of Iskanders in order to later transfer the footage to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This task was given to the Belarusian by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

To confirm that Churkin was recruited by the Ukrainian intelligence services, the authors of the story show a video where a man on camera reads something similar to the text of an oath to Ukraine.

The host of the program says that Churkin is now suspected of treason against the state (Article 356 of the Criminal Code).

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 was detained on August 4 by GUBOP officers. When he was detained, the GUBOP officers greeted Artyom with the phrase "Welcome to the Gestapo!", after which they beat him, put him in the "swallow" position, and threatened to rape him so that he would tell them the password to his phone. The Zavodskoy District Court of Minsk sentenced him to 15 days of arrest, after which he was never released. He was charged under Article 342.1 for participating in protests and transferred to Pretrial Detention Center No. 1.

As it became known , Evgeny Rubashko, Alexander Belov and Artem Solovey were charged with new charges under Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code - participation in an extremist group. The activists reported this in letters to their relatives and friends. The court hearing was closed.

Arrested in March 2021 for posting stickers in the city . According to the prosecution, from October 1 to March 22, he was engaged in activities aimed at "systematic damage to property." Using aerosol paint, he applied the inscriptions on the property of UE Vitebskvodokanal: "Long live Belarus!", "3%", "Red partisan", "Go away", etc. Sergei faces up to 15 years in prison. Sergei left two minor children in the wild.

Former director of the BelaPAN news agency. He was detained on July 18 after a search and interrogation at the Investigative Committee. On August 28, 2021, he was transferred to SIZO-1.

Andrey, a construction worker and decorator, was arrested in July 2021 in a criminal case related to the "Busly Lyatsyats" initiative. Some of the charges involved damaging the car of a Borisov district judge. As a result, he was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment and a fine.

In September 2024, Andrei was convicted again under the article on “malicious disobedience to the demands of the administration of a correctional institution.” This article is often applied to prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration and provides for punishment for imaginary violations. As a result, his total sentence was increased to 17 years.

Andrei is survived by three children and a wife who has serious health problems.

A resident of the Minsk region. The reason for the arrest was a visit to the entrance where a police officer lives. He served in the 103rd unit in Vitebsk, collaborated with Baypol.

10/17/2023 transferred to prison regime.

On September 27, his trial will begin in the Leninsky District Court of Mogilev under Part 2 of Article 411 of the Criminal Code.

Anarchist. Detained on July 29, 2021. His apartment was searched, and during the arrest he was beaten. Demanding access to the phone and computer, the guy pulled a bag over his head. During the transfer to the pre-trial detention center, all books were taken from Yevgeny Rubashko and put on a preventive record as prone to extremism, which means making a note in a personal file, special treatment and additional work with a psychologist.

In February 2023, Yevgeny Rubashko was transferred for a month to a cell-type room in IK No. 2. Prior to that, he was placed in a ShIZO three times for 10, 7 and 7 days for far-fetched violations of internal regulations. After being kept in the PKT, Yevgeny was again placed in the ShIZO for a total of 17 days.

In Bobruisk on April 19, 2023, the court transferred the political prisoner to the prison regime .

At the beginning of May 2023, it became known that Evgeniy had been transferred to Prison No. 8 in Zhodzina.

Alexander was detained early in the morning of July 29, 2021, as he was leaving his home. He was beaten during the detention, his home was searched, and then he was taken to the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, where he was tortured and beaten.

He was initially accused of actively participating in a protest on August 23, 2020, although by that time he had served an administrative arrest for that incident.

In January 2022, it became known that Sasha and other defendants in the criminal case were charged with additional charges under Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code - participation in an extremist group for subscribing to the Pramen Telegram channel. It is known that at the time of Belov's arrest, Pramen was not included in the list of extremist groups; this happened only in November 2021.

First, he graduated from college with a degree in construction, then from BNTU with a degree in Engineering Geodesy.

Since his youth, he has been a fan of MTZ-RIPO. He played in the DIY league football team, did Thai boxing and mountaineering.

Dmitry was arrested in July 2021 in connection with a criminal case involving an attempted assassination of propagandist Grigory Azarenok under the article "Act of Terrorism." According to the prosecution, he committed "deliberate actions aimed at preparing an act of terrorism against Azarenok." Various options were considered, including forcibly coercing him into recording a video message.

Dmitry was the only defendant in the case who did not plead guilty. At his trial, he stated that he was drawn into the crime during an investigative experiment. He claimed that after his arrest, he was subjected to violence and torture, forced to sign a confession. During interrogation, he sustained serious injuries to his hands, which now prevents him from working full-time. At the first hearing, he also announced his desire to renounce his Belarusian citizenship, as he "has no connection to terrorism."

In December 2022, Dmitry was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony, as well as a large fine.

Alexey was detained on July 1, 2021, in Minsk by officers from the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK). The following day, the court sentenced him to 15 days of administrative arrest, but instead of release, he was transferred to a pretrial detention center. He became a defendant in a criminal case for group actions grossly violating public order.

The case was heard under four articles of the Criminal Code: "organizing mass riots," "creating an extremist group," "inciting social hatred," and "insulting a government official." The trial was held behind closed doors, and the details of the charges are unknown.

In April 2022, the court sentenced Alexey to 11 years in prison. After the trial, pro-government channels published a video claiming that Alexey was the administrator of the Telegram chat "Cascade." A video about him had previously been filmed on TUT.BY.

In July 2023, it became known that he was in pre-trial detention, and on August 11, 2023, he was again found guilty in a new case of “creating an extremist group,” adding another 6 months to his sentence.

Vadim served administrative arrests in August and October 2020. His latest arrest occurred on June 28, 2021, as part of a criminal case related to an incident at a Russian Navy communications facility near Vileika.

According to the prosecution's case presented in court, Vadim and Alexey Glotov, "dressed in camouflage and armed with firearms, entered the military facility and planted explosive devices with a blast radius of up to 11 meters." One of them failed to detonate and was defused. An expert examination revealed that the devices were initiated using a delayed-action mechanism.

The damage was estimated at over 26,000 rubles. It was also reported that Vadim "planned to travel to Ukraine for military training."

In December 2022, he was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a maximum security penal colony and a large fine.

In 2025, a court hearing was held to discuss the issue of changing the prison regime, as a result of which Vadim was transferred to a prison regime.

Igor is a journalist for Belsat TV. He previously worked for the newspaper "Belorusy i Rynok" (Belarusians and the Market) and the Belarusian service of Radio Svaboda. He has also published in Russian and Ukrainian publications. Together with his wife, journalist Ekaterina Andreyeva, he wrote the book "Belarusian Donbass," a study of the role of Belarusians in the war in eastern Ukraine.

He was first detained on July 16, 2021, during mass searches of independent journalists on charges of "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order or actively participating in them." His apartment was searched, his equipment and books were seized, and he was then placed in a temporary detention facility. He was released on July 26.

In October 2024, news of his second arrest broke . Pro-government Telegram channels published a photo of Igor in handcuffs and a video in which he claimed he was being persecuted for an interview with media outlets deemed "extremist" in Belarus. Shortly before his arrest, in a commentary to the Dozhd TV channel, he noted that "Putin has embarked on a course of sharp escalation and is leading the country toward all-out war," while Lukashenko, in his opinion, "most likely does not want to participate directly in it, but is forced to face increasing pressure from the Kremlin."

In February 2025, Igor was charged with "discrediting Belarus" and "assisting extremist activity." The trial began on February 21 in Minsk. The court rejected the request for an independent expert examination, and on September 5 of that year, the journalist was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.