He was first held at Akrestsina and then arrested on criminal charges. People close to him describe Denis as a good, honest, fair-minded and caring young man. Pro-government channels call Denis the “chief visual editor” of videos made by the Supratsiu (Resistance) movement. In a video, Salmanovich says that he was detained by police because he “was a member of destructive Telegram channels”, “cooperated with ‘Busly Liatsiats’” and took part in protests in 2020.
The appeal court reduced his sentence from 10 to 9.5 years of imprisonment.
Denis has a serious illness — chronic glomerulonephritis following haemorrhagic vasculitis. In the summer of 2024, an ambulance took him from the penal colony. Salmanovich underwent surgery to have his gallbladder removed. After the operation, he spent another week in the colony’s medical unit until his stitches were taken out.
The political prisoner’s mother says that Denis last contacted her in mid-November 2024. Right after that call, he was taken to a punishment cell (SHIZO), where he remains to this day (January 2024).
In April 2025, his sentence was changed to a harsher one and he was transferred to a prison regime.
On September 16, 2026, he was released following a visit to Minsk by John Coale, special envoy of US President Donald Trump, and taken to Lithuania.
