Imprisoned for a purpose - trials

Belarus. Everyone has a different story and they can't say everything.

 - There are still many human rights defenders, dissidents and freedom fighters imprisoned and tortured in Belarus; the country that still has death penalty in use. Sometimes an exchange or trade takes place and some are released. This happened in September 2025 when 52 prisoners were freed but forcibly deported following an appeal from the US.

Pavel Seviarynets was released and exiled in December 2025 after more than 5 five years behind bars. 

He was innocent and didn't even try to do something, but was still convicted simply by “intent.”

He says: "There were moments when my consciousness simply switched off. Imagine: detention center, the so-called “cold cell.” In winter, they leave you in such conditions that if you don't sleep from the cold for five or six days, hallucinations begin, thinking breaks down.

I once caught myself with not a single thought in my head. You stand empty and understand: a few more days and nights in that state – and your head might just “go.” Not to say something – you can't think anything. The brain switches off so much, some protective system of the body turns on – and there are simply no thoughts. It's very frightening."

He continues: "...so far, Belarusians, in my opinion, have not taken the main step – the step towards God. Our national idea is Jesus Christ, Who speaks Belarusian. We are moving towards that, we are heading that way. But the full path is yet to be traveled. Everything comes in its time for those who know how to wait.

(Pavel Seviarynets is one of the founders and former leader of the youth organization of the Belarusian Popular Front (BNF) party “Young Front,” and also one of the leaders of the “Belarusian Christian Democracy” (BCD) party.)

Belsat.eu: "Prison, faith, and the future: Pavel Seviarynets on five years behind bars"  (6.1.2026) Read the full interview:

https://en.belsat.eu/90899453/prison-faith-and-the-future-pavel-seviarynets-on-five-years-behind-bars

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BBC: "Veteran dissident who refused exile released"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0ewjdgrkzo

- Mikola Statkevich spent more than 5 years behind bars after receiving a 14-year sentence for organising what the authorities called "mass riots" in 2020-2021. He had run against Alexander Lukashenko in a 2010 presidential election.

Statkevich is now recovering from a stroke he got in prison. 

His wife, Marina Adamovich, who waited so long without almost any information says: "I really hope that everything will be fine. The main problem at the moment is his speech.