All persecuted

Rita, a third-year psychology student at the F. Skorina State University, was arrested on December 28, 2021, on charges of "inciting hatred" for distributing leaflets whose content, according to investigators, degraded riot police. A criminal case was later opened against Rita for "desecration of buildings and damage to property" and "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order."

In March 2022, she was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

She was released in October 2023, having fully served her sentence.

Mikhail, a Gomel resident and native of Kazakhstan, was arrested in Russia in October 2021 on charges of "violence or threat of violence against a law enforcement officer" and placed in pretrial detention.

On May 3, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights barred Russian authorities from extraditing Mikhail to Belarus; his lawyer, Roza Magomedova (Civic Assistance), notified state authorities of this. He was scheduled to be released, as his detention period was set to expire on May 14, 2022. However, at 10:00 a.m. on May 13, 2022, he was forcibly extradited to Belarus, a grave violation of international law.

In August 2022, Mikhail was convicted of participating in post-election protests that took place in 2020 in Gomel and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

He was released in May 2024, having fully served his sentence.

Yevgeny, a former fan of FC Gomel, was arrested in July 2021 as part of a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." Following a search of his apartment, he was additionally charged with "illegal trafficking of potent or toxic substances."

In December of that year, he was found guilty of creating a chat room in which, it was alleged, he "called for participation in mass riots, resistance to law enforcement, the use of violence, and the destruction or damage of property in a manner dangerous to the public." After the first court hearing, the Telegram channel was declared an extremist group, and Yevgeny was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

In April 2022, Evgeny was re-tried in a closed trial under the article "creation of an extremist group or participation in one" and again sentenced to imprisonment.

According to human rights activists, he was released in February 2025, having fully served his sentence.

Larisa was first arrested on September 27, 2020, and convicted of an administrative offense. After the trial, she suffered a seizure and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Larisa suffers from depressive anxiety disorder and claustrophobia.

On August 6, 2021, security forces came to her workplace, conducted a search, and after interrogation, placed her in a temporary detention facility for three days. After this period, she was charged with violence or threat of violence against police officers for participating in a Sunday march on September 27, 2020, in Gomel, during which security forces used tear gas and stun grenades. According to the prosecution, Larisa "used brute force to grab a security officer by the arm, move him, and thereby obstruct his work."

In December 2021, Larisa was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

She was released in May 2023, having fully served her sentence as imposed by the court.

Artur was convicted of creating and installing an installation featuring a portrait of Lukashenko and the inscription "Burn in Hell" in a vacant lot in November 2020, posting a photo of it in a Telegram chat, and discussing protest activity in the spring of 2021 in another chat, which investigators deemed inciting social hatred.

In the fall of 2024, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.

Viktor was first detained on September 27, 2020, during one of the protests in Gomel. In the detention center, he was informed that a criminal case had been opened for "resisting police officers." The case was soon closed, but the prosecutor's office sent it for additional investigation, as a result of which the charges were reclassified. Viktor was taken into custody again on June 17, 2021.

In September of the same year, he was found guilty of “violence or threat of violence against a police officer” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in a general regime penal colony.

In April 2022, the court additionally found him guilty of "participation in actions that grossly violate public order" and sentenced him to another year and a half in prison. By partially adding up the sentences, the final term was 3.5 years in a maximum security penal colony.

According to human rights activists, he was released in the fall of 2024, having fully served his sentence.

Dmitry, a Belorusneft employee from Gomel, along with other employees of the company, took part in recording an appeal against violence and for dialogue. At the end of October 2020, he also recorded a video message for TUT.BY to his colleagues and the management of Belorusneft, in which he condemned the repressions, called for not hushing up what was happening and openly expressing their civic position.

He was arrested on May 14, 2021, and later convicted of “organizing or actively participating in group actions that grossly violate public order.”

He was released in December 2023, having fully served his sentence.

Maxim was arrested in March 2021 and convicted twice for “participating in group actions that grossly violate public order.”

He was released in July 2022, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.

Anastasia was convicted under the administrative article on participation in unauthorized mass events (24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) seven times in a row, as a result of which the total number of assigned days was 105. Also, searches were conducted at her place of residence and in her grandfather's house, during which all equipment was confiscated.

She was released in May 2021.

Pavel was detained as part of a criminal case opened after a protest that took place on September 20, 2020, in Gomel, and convicted of alleged violence against a criminal executive inspector, Pavel Shapovalov.

He was released in November 2023, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.

Dmitry was detained and convicted for the fact that during the memorial event for Roman Bondarenko, who was killed by security forces, which took place on November 15, 2020 in Gomel, he tried to knock the phone out of the hands of a police officer who was filming the protest, fearing that he would be brought to administrative responsibility.

Released in March 2023, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court

Alexey was detained in September 2020 for participating in the March of Justice in Gomel and sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. He was later detained again as part of a criminal case and convicted of allegedly committing violence against criminal-executive inspector Pavel Shapovalov.

He was released in July 2023, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.

Georgy was arrested and sentenced to two years of imprisonment in an open-type correctional facility for replacing the national flag with a white-red-white one.

On February 15, 2022, he was again detained in a "chemistry" by KGB officers and charged with a new crime. According to the case materials, while in the correctional facility, Vasilenko posted offensive comments about Lukashenko in a group chat.

In June 2022, he was re-sentenced to one and a half years of imprisonment in a general regime penal colony. Taking into account the unserved sentence, the judge sentenced him to a total term of one year and seven months.

In July 2023, Georgy was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.