Vyacheslav was convicted under the article on insult for, according to the charges, having personally written a note containing information of an offensive nature: "No complaints. I do not understand the staff of your gas station, who support the regime of the usurper Lukashenko."
Ruslan was convicted on charges of distributing leaflets in the city by posting them, which contained “knowingly false” information that slandered police officers.
He was released in May 2023 under an amnesty, three weeks before the end of his sentence.
Vadim was detained on April 14, 2021, on the border with Lithuania and later convicted for a comment left on Telegram addressed to the commander of the Minsk riot police, Dmitry Balaba.
He was released in November 2022, having served his full sentence.
- Associations
- Activists
- Human rights activists
Maria was arrested on September 9, 2020 and convicted for writing the words “We will not forget” at the site of the death of Alexander Taraikovsky, who was shot dead near the Pushkinskaya metro station during a protest that took place on August 10, 2020 in Minsk.
Lyudmila was convicted of insulting Lukashenko and arrested right in the courtroom. According to the prosecution, on August 12, 2020, she posted a long message with expressions addressed to Lukashenko on the social network VKontakte from her husband's account. At the trial, the woman explained that she published it for herself and did not realize that the post was available to other users. According to her, the page usually posted photos of animals, and this message was published publicly by mistake.
Lyudmila was released on March 9, 2022, as part of a pardon.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
- Students
Ilya, a student at the Gomel State Technical University, was convicted of insulting Lukashenko. He was found guilty of posting and distributing at least 17 leaflets on August 13, 2020, with an image of Lukashenko and an inscription that investigators said "humiliated his honor and dignity."
He was released in August 2022, having served his full sentence.
Alexey was convicted under the article “Insulting a government official” – in an Instagram group, he left a comment addressed to a police officer who sprayed gas and used violence against protesters.
In March 2022, his sentence was tightened: he was sentenced to 8 months and 23 days in prison.
According to human rights activists, in December 2022, Alexey fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
Ilya was arrested in March 2021 and convicted for participating in protests that took place on August 9-10, 2020 in Minsk. He comes from a large family and was the sole breadwinner at the time of his arrest. The court sentenced him to restricted freedom in an open-type correctional facility.
In February 2022, a court hearing was held, following which the punishment regime was tightened, and Ilya was sent to a penal colony.
He was released in the summer of 2023, having served his entire sentence.
| 27.05.2021 | Testimony in court: Nothing. Well, I’m showing that I’m only for, and not suprats our arrangements. Kali would I have intended to have a chymtsі ўzelnіchats, I would have a creature. About the hitch in which he stood: hell of people, like a flock of pobach, admiring the peragar, there the pit became a shameful flock of them. |
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Konstantin was arrested and convicted for a comment left on the social network VKontakte under a photograph of an Interior Ministry employee.
In June 2022, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
Alexander was convicted for a comment left on August 13, 2020. According to the prosecution, he posted an "offensive comment" on the page of a user with the nickname "Vera Konovalova." The post claimed that Drogichin police officer Yuri Chernyshkov "beat a girl with his hands and feet on the square in front of people" on August 10, 2020. Alexander left a comment under this post that began with the words "dealt with him" and contained an expletive. The text of the comment was not read out in full at the trial.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
In September 2020, a video from Zhodino went viral online, showing police officer Nikolai Baranovsky hitting a woman in the face so hard that she fell to the ground. Outraged citizens immediately ran up to him, including Anastasia, who tore off the police officer's mask. In May 2021, the court found her guilty, considering this act as "committing violence or threatening to use violence against an employee of the internal affairs bodies."
- Associations
- Administrators of TG-channels
- Foreign citizens
- Students
Sofia, a student at the European Humanities University and a citizen of the Russian Federation, was detained in May 2021 after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk by Belarusian authorities. The plane was en route from Athens to Vilnius. Sofia was accused of administering the Telegram channel "Black Book of Belarus", which published personal data and information about the private lives of civil servants.
At the end of December 2021, she was finally charged under seven articles of the Criminal Code, after which the case was referred to court.
The case was heard behind closed doors. In May 2022, Sofia was found guilty of two criminal charges. Following the trial, she was sentenced to imprisonment and ordered to pay compensation to the victims and court fees totaling about $70,000. The entire amount was subsequently paid by her family.
Sofia was released in June 2023 as part of a pardon.
- Associations
- Entrepreneurs
- Parents of minors
Petr, an entrepreneur and TV repairman, was first arrested in April 2021 in a criminal case brought under the article on slander. The reason was a repost he made on August 23, 2020 on his page on the social network VKontakte - the publication contained an image and a comment from another author regarding an employee of the Baranovichi District Department of Internal Affairs. Petr was subsequently convicted and sentenced to restriction of freedom in an open-type correctional facility, as well as to pay a fine.
In January 2023, he was released on the basis of the amnesty law of December 7, 2021. Later that year, he was again brought to administrative responsibility under Part 2 of Article 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses - for "dissemination, production, storage or transportation of information products containing calls for extremist activity or promoting such activity."
At the end of April 2024, it became known that Pyotr had been arrested again - on suspicion of participating in mass protests that took place in August 2020. A few months later, he was convicted of "participating in group actions that grossly violate public order" and sentenced to imprisonment by a court decision.
Alexander, TUT.BY's Deputy Director for Technical Issues, was detained on May 18, 2021, as part of a criminal case brought against TUT.BY on charges of large-scale tax evasion.
In March 2022, he was released from pretrial detention on bail. The charges against him were not dropped.
In April 2023, it became known that the criminal prosecution against Alexander and eight other defendants in the “TUT.BY case” was terminated based on the positive consideration of the petitions for release from criminal liability previously submitted by them.
Angela, chief accountant of TUT.BY, was detained on May 18, 2021, as part of a criminal case against TUT.BY, initiated on charges of tax evasion on an especially large scale.
In March 2022, she was released from pretrial detention on her own recognizance. The charges against her were not dropped.
In April 2023, it became known that the criminal prosecution against Angela and eight other defendants in the “TUT.BY case” was terminated based on the positive consideration of the petitions for release from criminal liability previously filed by them.
