Report on the Emergency Fundraiser for Those Released on September 11

On September 11, it became known that 52 prisoners had been released and forcibly taken out of the country. Many were left completely without documents, and all without any means of subsistence. At that time, BYSOL announced an emergency fundraiser with the goal of raising €50,000. Together, however, we raised more than €111,000.

How many people received assistance?

Some of the prisoners, most often those without Belarusian citizenship, did not apply for payments or refused them. As a result, BYSOL received 37 applications for financial assistance from political prisoners among those released on September 11, 2025. Accordingly, the funds raised through the emergency fundraiser were distributed among 37 people.

How much money was paid out?

To collect funds, we use the Stripe system, which charges a commission of about 3%. In addition, some political prisoners were unable to provide bank accounts for payments, so they received assistance in cash, for which the bank also charges a withdrawal fee. After these deductions, €107,850 remained available for payouts. Of this amount, €960 was spent on covering the costs of submitting documents to migration authorities.

Understanding that the needs of the released individuals were urgent, we did not wait to receive all assistance applications and began making payments as applications were submitted and verified. This initial payment amounted to €2,078 for each of the 37 people.

After the application and payment process was completed, €29,822 from the emergency fundraiser remained in the fund. These funds were divided equally among the 37 political prisoners, and payments of €806 per person were made. Thirty-four of them have already received these payments; we are awaiting bank account details from three more individuals in order to complete the transfers.

We are grateful to everyone who joined the emergency fundraiser. Thanks to your support, assistance arrived at the very moment it was most needed.