Беларусь
Палітычныя зняволеныя ў Беларусі
1 294 задокументированных дел
Belarus has held over a thousand political prisoners since the disputed August 2020 presidential election, when state security responded to mass protests with mass arrests. Charges most often invoked include Article 342 (organizing actions that grossly violate public order), Article 361 (calls against state security), and a growing list of 'extremism' designations applied to journalists, Telegram channels, and protest movements.
The Detained republishes case records maintained by Viasna Human Rights Centre — the country's leading documentation organization, whose own staff including Nobel Peace laureate Ales Bialiatski are themselves imprisoned. We translate cases to English, classify them by charge taxonomy, and surface them in the same database alongside Russia, Kazakhstan, and other monitored countries.
Основные источники: Viasna Human Rights Centre
Vasil Prokharau is a former paratrooper and Chernobyl liquidator who maintained a small blog about life in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. He was detained along with his wife and son as part of a family prosecution. He was convicted of treason, inciting hatred, and assisting extremist activities.
Dzmitry Levy was convicted in the Brest Regional Court on January 21, 2026. He was sentenced to 3 years of restricted liberty for assisting extremist activity. He has been added to the list of extremists.
Siarhei Zhukouski is a Russian citizen currently detained in Belarus. He is accused of assisting extremist activities under article 361-4 of the Criminal Code. He is being held in SIZA-1.
Valjancin Bjarezin was convicted by the Minsk Regional Court for his involvement in extremist activities. He was sentenced to five years of restricted freedom in an open-type correctional institution. He is currently serving his sentence in Mogilev.
Vasil Alehavich Prokharau was convicted by the Leninski District Court of Hrodna for organizing mass disturbances and insulting the President. He was previously held in Prison No. 1. He is officially listed as being involved in extremist activities.
Matsvei Aviarchuk was found guilty under Article 342 for participating in actions that violate public order. He was sentenced to 1 1/2 years imprisonment in a general-security penal colony by Judge Andrei Hrushko on August 8, 2024.
Leanid Aviarchuk was found guilty under Article 342 for participating in actions that violate public order. He was sentenced to 1 1/2 years imprisonment in a general-security penal colony by Judge Andrei Hrushko on August 6, 2024.
Vasil Aleksiayuk was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony under Article 342 for organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order. His verdict date was May 20, 2024.
Uladzimir Alisievich was likely detained in September 2023 following discussions in a private chat with friends. He faces multiple charges including inciting hostility and discrediting Belarus. He is currently held in Prison No. 4 and is listed as both a terrorist and an extremist.
Aleh Bandaruk was convicted under Article 342 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 1.5 years imprisonment in a general-security penal colony. His case is related to protests in Brest. The verdict was issued on September 12, 2024.
Uladzislau Barysau was convicted under Article 342 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment in a general-security penal colony. He is imprisoned in Penal colony No. 17 and his case is related to protests in Brest. The verdict was issued on April 5, 2024.
Natallia Belakurskaya is imprisoned in a general-security penal colony and was sentenced to 1 1/2 years. She was charged with insulting a government official and insulting the President. The verdict was delivered on January 9, 2025, by Judge Tatsiana Rakhmanenka.
184 из 1 294 дел пока не нанесены на карту — обычно потому, что в первоисточнике не указано точное местоположение.
Belarus rewrote how it jails dissenters without writing new laws. In 2020 almost no one was charged as an “extremist.” By 2025, three in four documented arrests were — a wholesale shift from public-order charges to national-security law.
Same charge, same year, different judge — a different life. Across documented Belarusian political cases, identically charged defendants drew sentences years apart depending on which judge heard the case. When we reshuffled judges at random five hundred times, a spread this large never appeared once.
Women are a small share of Belarus’s documented political prisoners — but those who are jailed are overwhelmingly prosecuted for journalism and online speech, and almost never for street protest.
Figures reflect documented cases in this database · a lower bound, not an official total
