Stanislau* turned to BYSOL after suffering a stroke. He was deported from Germany to Spain under the Dublin Regulation and urgently needs support due to lack of documents and money. He is currently staying in a Red Cross shelter in Spain and fears possible deportation to Belarus.
Before 2020, Stanislau* lived near Minsk and worked in the construction business. When the protests against the official results of the 2020 election began, he joined the marches, delivered water to participants, drove out people released from the Zhodzina high-security prison, transported volunteers, and coordinated assistance.
In 2021 he went to friends in Norway, where he took part in actions of the Belarusian diaspora in Oslo against potash fertilizer purchases by Yara.
Upon returning to Belarus, Stanislau was sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention. Afterward, law enforcers came to his home twice with searches. In search of work, he went to Russia. After the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, he did not hide his active civic stance. This activism led to his arrest in Smolensk, where he was placed in a remand center for anti-war campaigning. According to Stanislau, he spent six months in detention. In the end, he was released without any procedural documents at all.
He returned to Belarus in 2023 and started working as a taxi driver in Minsk. At the same time, he was passing information about the movement of Russian military equipment to the Telegram channel “Belarusian Hajun.” During this period, he began to receive phone calls from the Investigative Committee, and another search was carried out at his parents’ home.
He decided not to take risks, applied for a Schengen visa, and in 2024 left Belarus, eventually ending up in Germany. After spending five months in a refugee camp in Nuremberg, Stanislau was subjected to the Dublin procedure: the German authorities deported him to Spain due to a valid visa from that country. According to medical documents, the day before deportation the Belarusian suffered a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage, or stroke. He says an ambulance took him to hospital, but he was not allowed to stay in Germany, as the authorities considered he was faking it to avoid deportation.
In Spain, he spent the first two days on the street before going to hospital, where he received a CT scan and emergency endovascular treatment for the haemorrhage. Medical reports from Spanish doctors are available to BYSOL. Stanislau then turned to the Red Cross and was given temporary shelter near Barcelona.
While still in Germany, the activist handed over his documents to the migration authorities. Due to an incorrectly written postal address, his passport and birth certificate were lost. Now he only has scanned copies and a notice from the Spanish authorities.
Stanislau has provided BYSOL with all documents and photo-video materials confirming the key episodes of his story, including medical records and proof of shelter.
Since the haemorrhage, the Belarusian suffers from memory problems and ill health in heat or weather changes. He cannot do physical work and has no means for rehabilitation, which he tries to manage on his own. In addition, the Spanish authorities have begun considering his deportation to Belarus. A decision on his case is expected in about three months.
Due to personal circumstances and his state of health, Stanislau urgently needs to obtain any documents legalizing his status in the EU and to cover basic living expenses while he awaits a decision.
Stanislau’s family in Belarus continues to be visited by law enforcers. For this reason, and due to the threat of deportation, his real name is withheld.
*This is an anonymous story. For security purposes, we have changed the hero's name. The image is generated using AI.
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€1500