Paul Ivanovich Kazakov
- Home
- Involved in repression
- Paul Ivanovich Kazakov
Paul Ivanovich Kazakov
Responsible for all illegal actions against prisoners in Grodno Prison No. 1. Such actions include psychological and, in some cases, physical violence, illegal sending to solitary confinement, restrictions on correspondence and receiving parcels from persons in the institution.
On July 11, 2023, political prisoner Ales Pushkin died in a hospital in Grodno. He was taken there from the territory of Prison No. 1 in Grodno. As the head of this prison, he is responsible for the conditions of detention and the untimely provision of medical care to prisoners, which led to a tragic outcome.
In particular, his actions clearly show disregard for the rights of prisoners, including for political reasons.
Responsible for all illegal actions against prisoners in Grodno Prison No. 1. Such actions include psychological and, in some cases, physical violence, illegal sending to solitary confinement, restrictions on correspondence and receiving parcels from persons in the institution.
On July 11, 2023, political prisoner Ales Pushkin died in a hospital in Grodno. He was taken there from the territory of Prison No. 1 in Grodno. As the head of this prison, he is responsible for the conditions of detention and the untimely provision of medical care to prisoners, which led to a tragic outcome.
In particular, his actions clearly show disregard for the rights of prisoners, including for political reasons.
List of repressed
- Associations
- Parents of minors
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Andrei was detained for participating in a protest that took place on September 23, 2020 against Lukashenko's inauguration in Minsk. He was convicted of blocking the roadway near the Pushkinskaya metro station, as well as allegedly damaging two patrol cars and attacking two traffic police officers. Andrei did not admit his guilt.
At the end of December it became known that Andrei's punishment had been toughened and he had been transferred to prison regime.
He was released in August 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Vadim was detained and convicted under the article "hooliganism" after an incident in a park where he was hanging white ribbons. Olga Bondareva, a representative of the "Antivandal-Grodno" movement, began filming him on her phone and stalking him, which provoked a conflict.
He was released on January 17, 2022, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
Ten days after her release, Olga Bondareva went to court to recover compensation for moral damages from Vadim.
- Associations
- Activists
- Parents of minors
- Associations
- Activists
- Parents of minors
Alexander, an activist and well-known Belarusian artist, was arrested in late March 2021 on charges of “rehabilitating Nazism” after he displayed a portrait of Yevgeny Zhikhar with a machine gun over his shoulder at an exhibition at the Grodno City Life Center. The prosecutor’s office claimed that Alexander “characterized Zhikhar as a fighter against the Bolsheviks, glorifying his actions.” Despite the threat of prosecution, Alexander did not cancel his return to Belarus from Ukraine, where his exhibition was taking place.
On March 25, 2022, during the trial, he cut his stomach in protest, for which he received 13 days in solitary confinement. He was later convicted of "inciting hatred or discord" and "desecration of state symbols." The political prisoner refused to file an appeal.
As it became known, in November 2022, Alexander's type of punishment was toughened and he was transferred to prison regime.
On July 11, 2023, Alexander died in intensive care due to untimely medical care for a perforated ulcer.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Anna was detained and convicted for participating in a protest against violence in the country and the falsification of the presidential elections - the Unity March, which took place in Grodno on September 6, 2020.
- Associations
- Activists
- Twice political prisoners
- Journalists
- Foreign citizens
- Parents of minors
- Associations
- Activists
- Twice political prisoners
- Journalists
- Foreign citizens
- Parents of minors
Andrei is a Grodno-based journalist, publicist, and member of the Union of Poles in Belarus. In 2011, he was sentenced to three years in prison with a two-year suspended sentence for slandering Lukashenko. He was released in court on his own recognizance. In 2012, a new criminal case was opened against him for media publications, but in 2013 it was dismissed due to lack of evidence. In the fall of that year, he was released from the first case.
On March 25, 2021, Andrei was arrested again. He was charged with inciting hatred and calling for sanctions. The charges included articles about the 2020 Belarusian protests, the defense of the Polish minority, and publications about the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. He spent over 1.5 years in pretrial detention and was convicted in February 2023.
It is known that Andrei refused to submit a petition for pardon. He continues to be subjected to pressure and is deprived of visits and parcels. He has also received no phone calls.
On April 28, 2026, Andrzej Poczobut was released following lengthy negotiations and an exchange for Belarusian spies in Poland. He was immediately transported to Poland.
Vladimir was convicted for comments left on a Telegram channel about Lukashenko and former Minister of Internal Affairs Yuri Karayev.
He was released in March 2022, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
- Associations
- Activists
- Twice political prisoners
- Associations
- Activists
- Twice political prisoners
The first time, Yuri was convicted for, according to the charges, in September 2020, while walking with friends near the Molodezhnaya Hotel, during a conversation he tugged at the national flag, which eventually fell.
In November 2021, his sentence was changed and he was sent to a penal colony.
In January 2022, he was released, having fully served his sentence.
On February 15, 2022, Yuri was detained again in a criminal case opened under the article "assistance to extremist activity." He received administrative arrest, during which KGB officers visited him. As a result of the beatings, he was suspected of having broken ribs. The criminal case was not closed.
In May 2022, he was detained again in Russia due to a wanted list, and in October of the same year he was extradited to Belarus, although the extradition case was formally closed on September 26, 2022.
In January 2023, Yuri was convicted again for helping other political prisoners receive aid from foundations. At the trial, he pleaded not guilty and refused to testify.
In May 2024, his sentence was increased and he was transferred to prison until the end of his term.
- Associations
- Entrepreneurs
- Associations
- Entrepreneurs
Viktor was detained on October 18, 2020, after the "Partisan March" protest. Upon seeing security forces, he attempted to flee, but was knocked down and fell along with a riot police officer, who sustained a fracture. Viktor was severely beaten and hospitalized. At trial, he testified to torture but was convicted of allegedly tripping a riot police officer, pleading not guilty.
In the summer of 2021, he was convicted again under the article on "malicious disobedience to the demands of the correctional facility administration." This article applies to prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration and for fictitious violations. As a result, his total prison sentence was seven years.
In December 2023, Viktor's conditions of detention were tightened and he was transferred to a prison regime.
In December 2025 , he was released, having fully served his sentence.
Alexey was arrested and convicted of weapons possession and allegedly preparing to commit mass riots with their use. In an interview, he stated that he only pleaded guilty to weapons possession and did not understand why the trial was held behind closed doors. Alexey called the charge of preparing to commit riots a "witch hunt."
At the end of December 2021, it became known that Alexei's punishment had been increased and he had been transferred to a prison regime.
In the winter of 2024, a political prisoner was tried on a new criminal charge of "malicious disobedience to the demands of the prison administration." This article is used to try prisoners who refuse to cooperate with the administration for fictitious violations.
On March 19, 2026, he was released after another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Lithuania.
- Associations
- Associations
Alexander was arrested and convicted for participating in protests against the presidential election results in Minsk on August 9–10, 2020. He was accused of blocking roads, erecting barricades, and allegedly “throwing plants from flowerbeds at police officers.”
In mid-April 2022, it became known that Alexander's punishment had been toughened, transferring him to a prison regime for a period of two years.
Released in August 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court
- Associations
- Factory workers
- Associations
- Factory workers
Igor, a BMZ employee, was detained and convicted for organizing a strike at the enterprise, which took place on August 17, 2020 in Zhlobin.
In mid-December 2021, it became known that the political prisoner's conditions of detention had been tightened, transferring him to a prison regime for a period of one year.
He was released in the fall of 2023, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
Alexander was detained for sending an SMS to the commander of the Okrestina detention center, Yevgeny Vrublevsky, and convicted under the article “Threat of using violence against an employee of the internal affairs agencies.”
He was released in October 2023, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
| 23.08.2021 | Registered as an extremist. |
Sergei was arrested and convicted for participating in and resisting a protest that took place in August 2020 in Grodno.
In November 2021, his punishment was increased and he was transferred to prison.
According to human rights activists, he was released at the end of spring 2024, having fully served the sentence imposed by the court.
- Associations
- Activists
- Associations
- Activists
Vitold, an activist from Berezovka and a member of the BPF party, as well as the coordinator of the For Freedom movement, was detained in September 2020 and later convicted of participating in protests. He served his sentence until his death, which occurred under unclear circumstances. No criminal case was opened into his death, and the official version points to "cardiac arrest." The relatives and associates of the political prisoner consider his death to be violent, which is also confirmed by former political prisoners.
On May 21, 2021, Vitold died in penal colony No. 17 in Shklov.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Denis was arrested on August 8, 2020 and convicted in the so-called "Korelichi case" related to alleged unrest in Korelichi and Novogrudok following the presidential elections.
He was released in October 2021, having fully served his sentence as imposed by the court.