Pursuit is over

In 2021, Sergei was convicted twice for insulting government officials.

He received his first sentence in April for a comment on a Telegram channel about a policeman from Nesvizh. He was sentenced to restriction of freedom without being sent to an institution and ordered to pay compensation.

The second sentence was handed down in July - for a new comment on social networks, sentencing to restriction of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility.

In September, the Gomel Regional Court rejected the appeal. A more severe punishment replaced the previous one — "household chemistry" became common. Despite remorse, compensation, health condition, care for elderly parents and a positive character reference, the court did not mitigate the sentence.

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

Vasily, an engineer, was convicted in June 2021 for a short comment left on the Odnoklassniki social network in the group "Ustaty Cockroach" addressed to two employees of the Dubrovensky District Department of Internal Affairs.

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

Andrei was detained on the night of February 26-27, 2021, in Zaslavl for hanging leaflets with caricatures of Lukashenko. After his detention, he spent three days in the Minsk District Temporary Detention Center and was then placed under house arrest. In June 2021, he was taken into custody right in the courtroom after the verdict was announced.

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

Evgeny was convicted of intentionally removing the national flag from the front of the post office building and throwing it in a trash can, according to the charges. The case file states that he was intoxicated at the time of the act, which was confirmed by an expert examination.

Maxim was found guilty of taking a red-green flag from the roof of the store, crumpling it, throwing it away, and breaking the flagpole. He admitted his guilt in full and voluntarily compensated for the material damage caused.

According to human rights activists, he was released in the summer of 2022, having fully served the sentence imposed by the court.

Marina, a teacher of Polish and English, was convicted of “participating in group actions that grossly violate public order” in a criminal case opened after a protest that took place in Brest on September 13, 2020. During the protest, people sang and danced in circles, and a water cannon was used against them.
She was sentenced to restricted freedom without referral, but in November 2021 she was transferred to house arrest.

She was released in April 2022, having fully served her sentence as determined by the court.

Andrey, a student, was detained in March 2021 right during a class and placed in a pretrial detention center. The next day, security forces came to the dormitory where he lived, interrogated his neighbors and seized equipment.

Andrey was charged under two articles of the Criminal Code: violence against police officers and participation in group actions that grossly violate public order. According to investigators, in August 2020, he and other protesters threw parts of paving slabs and other objects towards police cars.

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

Dmitry was convicted in a criminal case brought under the article for insulting Lukashenko. He has two children, he is deprived of parental rights and pays alimony. Dmitry admitted guilt, however, despite this, he was sentenced to imprisonment and taken into custody in the courtroom after the verdict was announced.

According to human rights activists, he was released in June 2022, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.

Yuri was convicted of publicly insulting Lukashenko during a protest on August 9, 2020, on Central Square in Molodechno, thereby humiliating his honor and dignity. He was sentenced to imprisonment and taken into custody in the courtroom after the verdict was announced.

According to human rights activists, he was released in October 2022, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.

Sergei, the chief accountant, was found guilty of leaving an offensive comment under a photo of Grodno OMON commander Viktor Kravtsevich in the Grodno for Life Telegram chat on September 24, 2020. He was convicted under the article "Insulting a government official."

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

Gennady, a children's football coach, was fired immediately after his arrest. He was convicted for a comment in a Facebook group about police officer Timur Pakhomenko. According to him, it was an emotional reaction to a video in which security forces beat detainees with batons while they stood against a wall.

According to human rights activists, he was released in July 2023, having fully served his sentence.

Yuri was convicted in a criminal case opened under the article on insulting Lukashenko. The reason for the prosecution was his telephone call to the police on September 3, 2020, after the death of Gennady Shutov, whom Yuri knew personally. According to him, while intoxicated, he decided to speak out about what was happening and called 102.

On the same day, Yuri was detained. During the detention, law enforcement officers used physical force against him, as a result of which he suffered broken ribs and a broken jaw. He was also given an administrative penalty - 7 days of arrest. At the court hearing, he said that he did not file a complaint about the beating, considering himself "unworthy of attention" and adding that "he knew what he got it for." Yuri admitted his guilt in full.

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

Nikolai was detained in April 2021 in connection with the events of October 18, 2020, during the "Partisan March" in Minsk. He was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code: for participating in mass riots, intentional damage to property, and the threat of violence against security forces. According to the prosecution, he threw stones and asphalt at service minibuses with Almaz fighters, causing material damage. 13 security forces were recognized as victims, but only three appeared in court - in balaclavas and with changed names.

According to human rights activists, he was released in February 2025, having fully served the sentence imposed by the court.

Mikhail was found guilty of "threatening to use violence against a police officer." The victim, police officer Mitsura, claimed that on September 17, 2020, in a grocery store, Mikhail allegedly "stared at him and smiled," then filmed him on his phone and "threatened." However, witnesses who were nearby categorically denied the fact of threats. Mikhail was sentenced to restriction of freedom with referral to an open-type correctional facility.

In July 2022, the punishment regime was tightened and he was transferred to a penal colony.

According to human rights activists, he was released in May 2023, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.

Nikolai is a philologist, teacher of Belarusian and Russian languages and literature, and has been involved in entrepreneurial activity in recent years. He was detained in June 2021 and convicted for participating in a protest held on August 9, 2020 in Zhlobin against the falsification of the presidential election results.

He had already been detained earlier, on August 10, 2020. During this detention, Nikolai was brutally beaten. He ended up in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury and spent two weeks there. Later, he was summoned for questioning twice in criminal cases - on charges of insulting the national flag and participating in mass riots.

He was released in September 2022, having fully served his sentence.