Alesya Sergeenko has been in a pre-trial detention center since the end of January as part of a criminal case (presumably she is charged with “promoting extremism”). She was detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who sent parcels and letters to political prisoners.
It is also known that on February 21, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Mogilev considered the case under Decree No. 7 “On foreign gratuitous assistance” against Alesya. “Decree No. 7” is used in Belarus to judge those people against whom a mass raid was carried out at the end of January 2024. Then the KGB officers tried to find out who received food aid from abroad as part of the activities of the INeedHelp organization, recognized as a so-called “extremist formation.” Alesya Sergeenko has two children - 3 and 16 years old. Her husband, Maxim Sergeenko, is a political prisoner who in April 2021 received a sentence of 3 years in prison from the Kruglyansky District Court.
Trial outcome 22.07.2024
3 years 6 months of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 13.09.2024
unknown.
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
She was detainedon January 23, 2024 during a massive raid by security forces on relatives of political prisoners and people who helped them.
Trial outcome 11.07.2024
3 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 01.10.2024
unknown.
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
Mother of political prisoner blogger Olga Tokarczuk (was released in June 2022 after serving her sentence). She was detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who sent parcels and letters to political prisoners.
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
Natalia was detained during a massive raid by security forces on January 23–24, 2024, aimed at relatives of political prisoners and people expressing solidarity with them. She was convicted in a criminal case opened under the article “assistance to extremist activity.”
4 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions, 500 basic values fine.
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
She was detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who sent parcels and letters to political prisoners.
Trial outcome 17.10.2024
4 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 13.12.2024
the sentence was upheld.
After the sentence comes into effect, it is only possible to write letters to a prisoner. According to article 85 of the Penal Enforcement Code, prisoners cannot receive money transfers from persons who are not family members. Parcels are also only possible from relatives. If you want to help, help families directly, if this option is available on the prisoner's card.
On August 5, 2024, Judge Artem Vladimirovich Manzhos examined the administrative protocol against Tatyana under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (Distribution, production, storage, transportation of information products containing calls for extremist activity or promoting such activity).
Tatyana was convicted for helping the repressed.
Trial outcome 02.10.2024
5 years restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
Candidate of Historical Sciences, adjunct professor at the Institute of History, University of Wroclaw. Melnikov specialized in military history and the history of the period when Western Belarus was part of Poland (1921-1939). He has published a dozen and a half books on Western Belarus. In 2020, he was awarded the L. Sapieha Prize for the preservation of the historical heritage of Belarus.
It is known for sure that he was arrested and is being held in a pretrial detention center. Melnikov's last activity on Instagram dates back to January 21, 2024.
Melnikov is being tried for an interview he gave to an unnamed independent media outlet in 2022. The trial is being held in open mode. An excerpt from the indictment was quoted by SB:
"In 2022, Igor Melnikov, motivated by national hatred and discord, as well as political and ideological hatred, knowingly knowing about the extremist activities of participants in an information resource banned in Belarus, gave them an interview in order to develop and popularize media of this kind and involve more citizens in such activities," the prosecutor said. It is noted that the historian gave comments to the media both in Belarus and in Poland. Melnikov reportedly admitted his guilt.
The Court of Appeal reduced the sentence imposed by the court of first instance by 2 years.
Igor was released in early September 2025, having served his full sentence.
Trial outcome 13.09.2024
4 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Appeal 05.11.2024
2 years of imprisonment in colony under general regime conditions.
Irina Pogadaeva is 54 years old. She is from Brest. She worked at a local library as a bibliographer. Judging by social networks, she has two children.
At the end of January 2024, when she was tried for “distributing extremist materials.” At the end of 2023, she was included in the “extremist formation.” This was recognized by the Facebook community “Letters of Solidarity Belarus 2020”, in which people exchanged letters from political prisoners and also discussed helping prisoners.
In total, the case involves more than thirty episodes in which a woman sent money to political prisoners in pre-trial detention centers in Minsk, Gomel and other cities of the country. Basically, we are talking about amounts of 4-5 rubles. In just less than a year and a half (from August 2021 to December 2022), Irina sent 188 rubles. This was enough to initiate a criminal case and arrest in May 2024.
Detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who sent parcels and letters to political prisoners.
Trial outcome 12.09.2024
5 years restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
Natalia is a psychologist with many years of experience. As the publication writes, she graduated from the biology department of BSU, and has been in the profession since at least the 2000s. Since 2011, she has worked at the social and pedagogical center of the Sovietsky district of Minsk. She worked in various areas of her profession - she worked with children with cerebral palsy, conducted psychological training for Olympiad participants, and trained teachers.
She will be tried at the same time as several others who were arrested earlier this year for helping prisoners, but the nature of the charges against her is unknown.
Trial outcome 07.10.2024
4 years restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility, 20 basic values fine.
Yulia is accused of financing extremist activity following widespread arrests during the government's persecution of her support for political prisoners and their families through the INeedHelpBy food aid project.
Yulia is the sister of Nikolai Karobko's brother's wife and the mother of Pavel Kravtsov.
In September 2025, she was detained again.
Trial outcome 09.09.2024
4 years restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
Trial outcome 04.11.2025
2 years 6 months restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
Final verdict by partial addition:
4 years 6 months restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
She was detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who expressed solidarity with the political prisoner.
Trial outcome 07.10.2024
4 years 6 months restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility, 500 basic values fine.
Gomel resident Elena Totskaya attended many trials of opponents of the authorities of the Republic of Belarus. She previously worked in public service, but in 2020 she became an activist and volunteer.
She was detained as a result of a massive raid by security forces on January 23-24, 2024 on relatives of political prisoners and people who sent parcels and letters to political prisoners.
Trial outcome 13.09.2024
4 years 6 months restrictions of freedom without referral to an open-type correctional facility.
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