Nikolai was detained in November 2022 as part of a criminal case opened under several articles, including “insulting Lukashenko.”
According to the prosecution, from February 2021 to October 2022, he used his mobile phone to post messages on various messaging apps containing "slanderous fabrications against Lukashenko," publicly insulting him, as well as the heads of the Central Election Commission, the Council of the Republic, other government officials, and a judge.
Furthermore, according to the prosecution, on October 11, 2022, "in order to facilitate the activities of a destructive Telegram channel," previously recognized as extremist, he sent a message about the movement of military aircraft in the Brest area.
Nikolai was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
He was released on March 20, 2026, as part of a pardon following another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole.
