Artem Viktorovich Veselov
The Department of Corrections of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus for the Mogilev Region. Correctional Colony No. 15 in Mogilev. Head of the Regime Department. Major of the Internal Service.
Accomplice to crimes against the rights and freedoms of Belarusian citizens. Artem Viktorovich Veselov is a law enforcement officer involved in politically motivated repressions, which included the detention and violence against thousands of peaceful protesters, several hundred journalists, human rights defenders, and activists.
Veselov is guilty of using violence and creating inappropriate conditions for political prisoners at Correctional Colony No. 15 in Mogilev.
The Department of Corrections of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus for the Mogilev Region. Correctional Colony No. 15 in Mogilev. Head of the Regime Department. Major of the Internal Service.
Accomplice to crimes against the rights and freedoms of Belarusian citizens. Artem Viktorovich Veselov is a law enforcement officer involved in politically motivated repressions, which included the detention and violence against thousands of peaceful protesters, several hundred journalists, human rights defenders, and activists.
Veselov is guilty of using violence and creating inappropriate conditions for political prisoners at Correctional Colony No. 15 in Mogilev.
List of repressed
Dmitry was arrested in September 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk. He was initially charged with "insulting a government official," but during the trial, it emerged that the charge was for "insulting Lukashenko" for a comment he made on August 12, 2020, on the social media platform VKontakte. At that time, Dmitry commented on the news under his own name on the TUT.BY page.
In November 2022, he was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting Lukashenko" and sentenced to imprisonment.
He was released in August 2024, having fully served his sentence.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Dmitry was arrested in the fall of 2021 as part of a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In August 2022, he was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting a government official," and sentenced to imprisonment and a large fine.
He was released in the winter of 2024, having fully served his sentence.
Andrei was arrested on September 30, 2021, in connection with a criminal case opened for online comments following the deaths of KGB officer Dmitry Fedosyuk and IT specialist Andrei Zeltser in Minsk.
In October 2022, he was found guilty of "inciting hatred or discord" and "insulting a government official" and sentenced to imprisonment.
He was released in the winter of 2023, having fully served his sentence.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Stepan was arrested in connection with the protests in Pinsk on the night of August 9-10, 2020, and convicted of participating in "mass riots." He was accused of attempting to hit police officers, as well as hitting a shield that hit the leg of police officer Polivoda.
At the trial, Stepan explained that he tried to pass by, but was pushed by a shield, he fell, and cut his knee. According to him, the gesture that looked like a throw on the video was actually an attempt to fix his sleeve.
He was released in February 2024, having served his entire sentence as determined by the court.
Konstantin was arrested on May 12, 2021, for participating in a work Telegram chat called "Volnae Panstva," where he and colleagues discussed the protests and made comments about Lukashenko. He was sentenced to administrative arrest, after which he remained in custody, as a criminal case had been opened against him for group actions grossly violating public order and for the use of violence against a law enforcement officer.
In September 2021, Konstantin was found guilty of three criminal charges for participating in a post-election protest that took place in Rechitsa on August 9, 2020. He attempted to prevent the arbitrary detention of protesters and, as police were loading the detainee into a police vehicle, pushed Rechitsa police officer Dmitry Garay in the back. He was also charged with insulting Lukashenko.
He was released in February 2024, having fully served his sentence.
After his release, Konstantin was again subject to administrative charges for missing an ideological lecture. He subsequently left Belarus.
- Associations
- Activists
Viktor, an ornithologist and former head of the "Akhovy ptushak Batskaushchyny" (Birdwatch of Belarus) organization (2006–2014), was arrested at home on August 31, 2021, and initially sentenced to 12 days of administrative arrest for disobeying police. Following his arrest, he was charged with criminal group actions grossly violating public order. According to the case file, he "blocked traffic and shouted slogans, as well as committed five other similar incidents."
In May 2022, Viktor was convicted of participating in the 2020 post-election protests in Minsk and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
He was released in September 2023, having fully served his sentence.
Oleg was arrested on May 31, 2021, in connection with a criminal case involving group actions grossly violating public order. In October of that year, he was convicted of participating in a protest against the results of the presidential election that took place on August 10, 2020, in Grodno.
He was released in April 2022, having fully served his sentence.
- Associations
- Foreign citizens
Yevgeny, a Russian citizen and rapper, was convicted in the fall of 2021 for a self-composed song that, according to the prosecution, contained insults against Lukashenko.
He was released in the summer of 2022, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court, and deported to Russia.
- Associations
- Military
- Retirees
Sergei was arrested and convicted of insulting officials. According to investigators, on April 2, 2021, he sent emails to the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office and the district executive committee containing offensive statements directed at the deputy prosecutor and the first deputy chairman of the district executive committee. An expert examination found the wording of the emails to be abusive and aimed at creating a negative image of government officials.
In addition, he was charged with violating weapons storage regulations and illegal possession of an explosive substance – black powder suitable for detonation.
According to human rights activists, he was released in the summer of 2024, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
- Associations
- Activists
Artem, an anarchist activist, was arrested on August 4, 2021, in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them."
In January 2022, Artem and other defendants were charged with additional membership in an extremist group for subscribing to the Telegram channel "Pramen." At the time of his arrest, the channel had not yet been added to the list of extremist groups; this only happened in November 2021.
In April 2022, Artem was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
He was released in July 2024 as part of a pardon.
Alexei was detained on February 23, 2021, and held in pretrial detention pending trial. In August 2021, he was convicted of "active participation in group actions that grossly violated public order" for his participation in the post-election protest that took place on September 13, 2020, in Minsk, as well as for attempted theft.
In addition, the Minsktrans company filed a civil claim for damages in the amount of almost 29 thousand rubles.
At the time of his arrest, Alexei had an outstanding criminal record and was serving a restricted-liability sentence without being sent to a correctional facility; he had two months and three days remaining on his sentence.
In November 2023, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
Ilya was detained in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests against falsifications in the presidential elections that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."
According to human rights activists, he was released in November 2024, having fully served his sentence.
- Associations
- Twice political prisoners
- Politicians
- Law enforcement
Nikolai is a Belarusian politician and the chairman of the United Civil Party. He was first convicted on August 6, 2021, and sentenced to three months in jail for "disclosing investigative data in the Coordination Council case." He served his full sentence and was released on March 26, 2022.
On July 27, 2022, Nikolai was again detained in connection with a criminal case opened under the article "organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order, or actively participating in them." According to the investigation, as stated by Sergei Pasko, head of the Investigative Committee's Minsk office, in August 2020, he allegedly took an active part in mass unrest in Minsk, directing the radical crowd, giving instructions to protesters, and calling for roadblocks and obstructing the movement of vehicles.
In November 2022, Nikolai was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment.
In July 2024, he was released, having fully served his sentence imposed by the court.
- Associations
- Parents of minors
Vladimir was arrested in July 2021 in connection with a criminal case opened following a protest on September 13, 2020, in Brest, where people were singing and dancing in circles and were attacked with a water cannon. He was convicted of "participating in group actions that grossly violate public order" and sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony.
While in prison, Vladimir faced another trial—this time for a comment he left about Gorki traffic police officer Yuri Demyanovich on the "Punishermen of Belarus" Telegram channel. The political prisoner was sentenced to restricted freedom with a referral order, and through partial addition, his prison term was increased by six months.
Vladimir was released in April 2023, having fully served his sentence.
- Associations
- Athletes
Viktor was detained in a criminal case opened after spontaneous protests against falsifications in the presidential elections that took place on August 10, 2020 in Brest. He was convicted of participating in "mass riots."
He was released in May 2024, having fully served his sentence as determined by the court.
