Yelena and Sergey Movshuk were convicted for participating in the protests in Pinsk: the couple threw sticks in the direction of OMON officers. They were recognized as political prisoners and later expelled from the country. The couple are now facing health problems. Their children also remain in Belarus. They want to bring them to Lithuania and are asking for support.
My name is Sergey Movshuk. In 2021, my wife and I were convicted for participating in the August 2020 protests in Pinsk. For throwing sticks in the direction of OMON officers, we received lengthy sentences: I was sentenced to 6.5 years of imprisonment, and Yelena to 6 years. We were both recognized as political prisoners and, for many years, were separated from each other, our five children, and our relatives. While in the colony, my wife was deprived of her parental rights to one of our daughters.
During my imprisonment, I went through both a maximum-security penal colony and a prison. Because of my status as a political prisoner, I was deprived of parcels, visits, and packages, and was repeatedly sent to the punishment cell for formal reasons—for example, because I did not greet someone in the required way. There were periods when I lacked even the most basic necessities and had to brush my teeth with laundry soap because I had no money to buy toothpaste.
In the spring of 2026, I was taken to Lithuania. For the first time in 47 years, I found myself in the European Union. However, I arrived without any documents. In Vilnius, I embraced my wife for the first time in five years. We were finally together and slowly began to recover—both physically (especially from serious dental problems) and emotionally (at first, I suffered terribly from insomnia).
However, freedom did not solve all our problems. We have five children. We invited all of them to come here, but the older ones decided to remain in Belarus. We would like to bring the two youngest, who are under 18, to Lithuania. It is a complicated process, but we are not giving up.
We now live in Vilnius and are trying to build our future independently. I work as a tiler, and my wife works as a cleaner. We are grateful for the opportunity to work honestly and live without fear that someone will come for you in the middle of the night.
However, like many other former political prisoners, we arrived in a foreign country without savings or property. We have to start everything from scratch. Right now, we need your help, including for the period when our children arrive, as we will need to rent a larger apartment and buy everything they need for school.
To get back on our feet, we truly need your support. We are grateful for every cent you donate. It will help us adapt more quickly, restore our health, and focus on what matters most: keeping our family together and securing our children’s future.
Fundraising goal
€2800
€1000 – dental treatment and restoration
€1000 – rent for a larger home
€800 – essential items for the children and preparation for school