All persecuted

Evgeny Glushkov is a former Mogilev journalist, in the 90s and 2000s he worked on city television, after which he collaborated with several city portals.

Glushkov was detained in early January by assault because the man did not open the door to the security forces. He was dragged out into the street in the same clothes he was wearing at home.

According to some reports , it has been established that a criminal case has been opened against Glushkov for journalistic activities. The presumptive article is 361-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (creation or participation in an extremist formation).

In Mogilev, Sobolevsky is known as one of the freelancers who collaborated with city online publications until 2020. Ales was sentenced twice for an administrative violation for a day, after which he was not released.

Freelance journalist from Pinsk, owner of the website and TikTok page “about Stolin”.

Alexander lived alone in Polesie for a long time, so his detention became known by chance. Concerned people became worried that he had not been in touch for a long time. It turned out that Alexander was placed in Brest pre-trial detention center-7. According to unverified information, he is charged with “assisting extremist activities.”

Alexander is also the father of the guy who “dismantled” the water cannon in Minsk during the 2020 protests.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs , the man made videos with incriminating evidence, showed them to local entrepreneurs and demanded money for “silence.” He also allegedly “promoted the activities of an extremist telegram channel whose administrators are located abroad.”

On May 28, 2024, the appeal was considered and the verdict entered into force.

Andrey Fomin is 29 years old, he hails from Mogilev, but lived in Minsk. The guy graduated from the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. In the video of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he was forced to say that he was the editor and author of articles for the «Vestniki» newspaper network. According to information from activists of the ByProsvet initiative, Andrey did not have access to newspaper accounts and did not know those who distribute them in Belarus.

As a result, the guy was charged for participating in the March on August 30, 2020 and transferred to the pre-trial detention center-1. Andrey fundamentally did not want to leave his country, he is writing a book, six cats are waiting for him at home.

Sergei, an investigative journalist and editor of the Belarusian portal "Ezhednevnik" (ej.by), was detained on December 8, 2021, following a search and questioning by the Investigative Committee. He was charged with bribery and placed in pretrial detention. Sergei had previously been detained in connection with this case, from March 25 to April 4, 2020.

It later became known that he was also accused of “inciting hatred and discord” and “abuse of power or official authority.”

Human rights organizations assessed the prosecution as evidence of a political motive in the criminal prosecution of the journalist, aimed at forcing him to stop or change the nature of his activities in disseminating information about corruption.

According to Sergei's colleagues, the prosecution was motivated by his high-profile investigative journalism, primarily concerning large-scale corruption in the healthcare sector. Based on these findings, he reported on unprecedented kickbacks in the supply of expensive equipment, the purchase of an unregistered vaccine that was claimed to have been tested on Belarusian children, and the falsification of data on the spread of COVID-19 in Belarus. Moreover, according to him, these actions took place with the approval of the Ministry of Health.

In October 2023, Sergei was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

Dmitry, the former director of the BelaPAN news agency, was detained on August 18, 2021, following a search and questioning by the Investigative Committee. He was initially placed in pretrial detention for 72 hours as part of a criminal case under the article "organizing or preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or participating in them." However, he was not released and was transferred to a pretrial detention center 10 days later. The charge was later amended to tax evasion.

In November 2021, it was revealed that Dmitry had also been charged with "creating an extremist group." In October 2022, he was found guilty of "participating in an extremist group" and "tax evasion," sentenced to imprisonment, imposed a large fine, and banned from holding certain positions for five years.

Igor is a journalist for Belsat TV. He previously worked for the newspaper "Belorusy i Rynok" (Belarusians and the Market) and the Belarusian service of Radio Svaboda. He has also published in Russian and Ukrainian publications. Together with his wife, journalist Ekaterina Andreyeva, he wrote the book "Belarusian Donbass," a study of the role of Belarusians in the war in eastern Ukraine.

He was first detained on July 16, 2021, during mass searches of independent journalists on charges of "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order or actively participating in them." His apartment was searched, his equipment and books were seized, and he was then placed in a temporary detention facility. He was released on July 26.

In October 2024, news of his second arrest broke . Pro-government Telegram channels published a photo of Igor in handcuffs and a video in which he claimed he was being persecuted for an interview with media outlets deemed "extremist" in Belarus. Shortly before his arrest, in a commentary to the Dozhd TV channel, he noted that "Putin has embarked on a course of sharp escalation and is leading the country toward all-out war," while Lukashenko, in his opinion, "most likely does not want to participate directly in it, but is forced to face increasing pressure from the Kremlin."

In February 2025, Igor was charged with "discrediting Belarus" and "assisting extremist activity." The trial began on February 21 in Minsk. The court rejected the request for an independent expert examination, and on September 5 of that year, the journalist was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.

Lyudmila is the former CEO of TUT.BY. She worked at TUT.BY since 2008: first as a legal adviser, later as a director. In 2017, she headed Tut By Media.

In May 2021, she was arrested in connection with a criminal case opened on charges of tax evasion.

In October 2022, the KGB added Lyudmila to a list of those “involved in terrorist activities.” She was later also charged with “inciting hatred” and “calling for actions against national security.”

The trial was held behind closed doors and lasted more than two months - 37 sessions in total. In March 2023, Lyudmila was sentenced to a long prison term and a large fine.

Denis is a journalist and volunteer editor for the Belarusian version of InformNapalm, a freelance correspondent for Novaga Chas. His investigations touched on the influence of the "Russian world" on Belarus and Syria, construction in Kurapaty, and the transition of former Ukrainian Berkut officers to the Belarusian security forces.

In March 2021, he was detained by KGB officers on charges of "interfering with the activities of the police." Searches were conducted in his apartment, his mother's apartment, and his 95-year-old grandmother's apartment. In 2022, it became known that he was also accused of collaborating with Ukrainian intelligence.

In September 2022, Denis was convicted under articles on "treason" and "interference in the activities of an internal affairs officer", but the latter charge was later replaced with "illegal collection or dissemination of data about personal life".

In June 2023, he was transferred to a maximum security prison without notifying his family or lawyer.

In April 2024, the political prisoner was deprived of parcels, and sending vitamins now requires permission from the prison doctor.

Belarusian journalist Andrei, detained on January 12, 2021, along with his girlfriend Irina Zlobina, was accused of "financing protest activities" and paying fines to protesters. He was convicted on a number of criminal charges, including "treason" and "participation in an extremist group."

On September 1, 2022, the couple got married in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1.