In 2025, criminal prosecution of women on political grounds continues in Belarus. Women of various ages and professions are subjected to repression — from doctors and pensioners to bloggers and mothers of many children. Various articles of the Criminal Code are applied to them; however, most often women are tried for participation in protests, “incitement of social hatred,” “calls for sanctions,” and “insulting the president.”
Most frequently, the following articles of the Criminal Code were applied to women in 2025:
Article 342:
“Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them.”
Among Belarusians and human rights defenders, this article is known as the “people’s article,” as it has often been used to persecute participants of peaceful protests and demonstrations.
Under this article, at least 20 women were convicted. Most often, they were sentenced to restriction of liberty without placement in an open-type correctional facility (“home confinement”). For example, on January 30, in the Pervomaisky District Court of Minsk, Alena Sharafanovich was convicted under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code. However, the exact term of her sentence is unknown to human rights defenders. Alena is one of the best pediatric oncologists in Belarus, and it is impossible to find a single negative review about her from patients in medical chats and communities.
It is known that under the “people’s article,” 73-year-old Minsk resident Alena Pankratava was convicted for participation in protests and was presumably sentenced to “home confinement.” Alena studied at Belarusian State University and is now retired. She leads a very active life — attending theaters, exhibitions, and lectures, as well as traveling.
On May 30, 2025, 78-year-old pensioner Nina Bahinskaya was found guilty of “repeated violation of the law on mass events” (Part 2 of Article 342-2 of the Criminal Code), but instead of punishment she was assigned “preventive supervision.”
However, there were also cases when women were sentenced to imprisonment under the “people’s article.” Thus, political prisoner, blogger, and activist Palina Zyl was convicted under Article 342 of the Criminal Code for participation in protest actions in 2020 and was sentenced to one year in a penal colony. Meanwhile, multi-child mother Hanna Papay received 2.5 years of imprisonment. She was convicted under three articles at once:
— “Calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) or other actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus” (Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code);
— “Incitement of racial, national, religious, or other social hatred or discord” (Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code);
— “Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them” (Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code).
After the verdict, Hanna was added to the lists of “extremists” and “terrorists.”
Article 361:
“Calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) or other actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus.”
Charges under this article were brought for statements or actions that representatives of the authorities considered aimed at encouraging other countries to impose sanctions against Belarus.
In 2025, in addition to Hanna Papay, employees of the company “Peleng” — Karina Pratashchyk (on February 13, 2025, she was sentenced to two years of imprisonment) and Iryna Surzhyk (sentenced to one year and six months of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony) — were convicted under Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code. Both women are included in the list of citizens of Belarus, foreign citizens, and stateless persons involved in extremist activities. Iryna Surzhyk was also added by the KGB to the “terrorist list.”
Lidziya Horakhava was also convicted under the same part of Article 361, although the essence of the charges remains unclear. On May 30, 2025, Lidziya was added to the list of persons involved in extremist activities, and on June 9, 2025, the KGB added her to the “terrorist list.” Lidziya Horakhava is originally from Mahiliou, studied at Lyceum No. 1 with a philological focus, graduating in 2011. She later moved to Minsk and studied at the Higher State College of Communications (now the Belarusian State Academy of Communications) in two specializations — postal communications technician and marketing economist. She later completed distance studies in economics. She worked as a sales manager in various companies in Minsk. Judging by her social media, she is interested in cosplay and photographs herself in various self-created images. She also enjoys drawing and shares her artwork.
On February 4, 2025, dentist Alena Yelkina from Vitebsk was convicted under Part 1 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code (“Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it”) and Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code. She was sentenced to imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony, but the exact term is unknown. On April 4, 2025, she was added to the list of persons involved in extremist activities, and on April 9, 2025, the KGB added her to the “terrorist list.”
A similar story occurred with pulmonologist Alena Rudaya. The Minsk-based doctor with 30 years of professional experience was sent to a penal colony under three political articles: Part 3 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code, Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code (“Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it”), and Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code (“Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus”). The minimum sentence she faced under these charges was four years in a penal colony, according to Nasha Niva. Alena Rudaya graduated from the Belarusian State Medical University in 1992 and worked at Minsk City Hospital No. 10 from 1992 to 2022, where she headed a department.
Article 361-4:
“Facilitating extremist activities.”
This article began to be actively used by authorities after 2020. Most often, it is applied to people who send information to bots used to communicate with independent media (recognized as extremist in Belarus) or give interviews to such media outlets.
Tatsiana Vasilyeva (the mother of political prisoner Yuliya Laptanovich) was convicted back in December 2024 under Part 1 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code in the Brest Regional Court. Judge Mikalai Syanko sentenced her to two years of restriction of liberty without placement in an open-type correctional facility (“home confinement”). On February 25, 2025, her appeal was considered in the Supreme Court (presiding judge Edgar Martirosyan). As a result, the sentence was left unchanged.
On February 11, 2025, 60-year-old political prisoner Natallia Ladutskaya was found guilty of “facilitating extremist activities” by the Minsk Regional Court and was sentenced under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code to four years of imprisonment and a fine of 600 base units (24,000 rubles).
Article 130:
“Incitement of racial, national, religious, or other social hatred or discord.”
Charges under this article were brought for statements or actions that authorities considered aimed at inciting social hostility.
In 2025, beauty industry specialist Nastassia Tydykava (Sadounikava) was convicted under Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code. Most likely, she was sentenced to “chemistry” with referral or to imprisonment, as she is listed among extremists as a person “serving a sentence.” Nastassia is 34 years old and is originally from Byarezino. According to information from social media, she graduated from the Faculty of Special Education at the Belarusian State Pedagogical University. She is married and has a child. Judging by her social media, until recently she worked in the beauty industry, specializing in eyebrows and eyelashes.
On August 8, the Ministry of Internal Affairs updated the “List of Citizens of Belarus, Foreign Citizens, or Stateless Persons Involved in Extremist Activities.” The name of Minsk resident Nadzeya Fafanava appeared on it. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the woman is 73 years old and will turn 74 in mid-August. She was convicted under Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code (“Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus”) and Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code. The exact sentence imposed on her is unknown. The Ministry of Internal Affairs’ list states that her “criminal record has not been expunged.”
Article 368:
“Insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus.”
In addition to the previously mentioned Alena Rudaya and Nadzeya Fafanava, this year a 70-year-old woman from Homel was convicted under this article for comments. Sofiya Bachurynskaya was detained in December 2024 and in 2025 was convicted under four articles — Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code, Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code (“Defamation of the President of the Republic of Belarus”), and Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code (“Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it”). The essence of the charges is unknown, but it appears the case was based on comments on Telegram, Nasha Niva reports. The woman’s account was not protected and was fully public, making it easy for law enforcement to identify her. Bachurynskaya was sentenced to a punishment involving deprivation of liberty and was added to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ list of “extremists.”
In recent years, Sofiya Bachurynskaya had been engaged in network marketing. She leads an active life, enjoys traveling, and over the past few years has visited several EU countries and Ukraine. Another of Sofiya’s hobbies is drawing.
Machine translation from Belarusian.