Father of political prisoner Nikita Zolotarev . Mikhail was detained on August 8, 2023 and sentenced to 15 days of arrest under Art. 19.11 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus (distribution of extremist materials). After the first arrest, he was not released and was sentenced under the same article to another 15 days, and then to another 15.
On September 22, 2023, on the eve of his release after serving his third administrative arrest in a row, he was again found guilty of committing an offense and sent to a detention center for the fourth time.
On October 24, by decision of the KGB, the closed Telegram chat “Gomel for Nikita Zolotorev” was recognized as an “extremist formation,” and its only designated participant was the father of the political prisoner, Mikhail Lapunov.
Human rights activists learned that some time after serving administrative arrests, Mikhail was taken into custody. As of the summer of 2024, he is being held in a pre-trial detention center .
