After spending a year and a half in prison, Pinsk resident Vladislav Navarich was forced to leave Belarus. He is now awaiting a decision on international protection and needs support to cover rent, medical care, and basic living expenses during his first months of freedom.
Vladislav lived and worked in Pinsk and was not particularly interested in politics before 2020. But the summer of 2020 — the authorities’ treatment of people during the COVID-19 pandemic and the election campaign — made it clear that “this is a dictatorship, and people are tired of pretending everything is fine.”
Against the backdrop of the presidential election and the brutal crackdowns and repression that followed, Vladislav took an active civic stance and began participating in mass protests.
“I took part in almost all of the large protest actions,” Vladislav recalls. “After the police ‘crushed the streets,’ I tried to return to normal life and hoped I hadn’t been noticed by the security services. I followed the news, wrote things on social media, reposted — probably like many people at the time.”
Early in the morning of August 7, 2024, security forces broke into Vladislav’s home, conducted a search, and detained him in connection with the events of 2020.
“I was shocked that they came for me four years later,” Vladislav says. “They showed me piles of photos and videos — me walking in a crowd, shouting, clapping. The investigator immediately started threatening me: either I confess, or my sentence will be twice as long.”
He was first placed in a temporary detention center: five days in the cold, sleeping on bare boards, with constant night wake-ups. “We, the ‘political prisoners,’ were woken up several times a night and forced to loudly state our name and the article we were charged under. There was no sleep.”
Later he was transferred to the pre-trial detention center in Baranovichi. On October 4, 2024, the court found Vladislav guilty under Article 342, Part 1 of the Criminal Code (participation in actions grossly violating public order) and sentenced him to one and a half years in a penal colony in Bobruisk.
The appeal brought no change.
“In Bobruisk, there was what human rights defenders call ‘systematic pressure,’” Vladislav says. “Constant summons to the operative department, pressure to sign ‘confessions.’ Like all political prisoners, my personal account was blocked, I was deprived of parcels, visits, and purchases, and I was regularly sent to solitary confinement.”
While in the colony, Vladislav injured his elbow joint and developed serious dental problems: fillings fell out, teeth began to crumble.
On December 5, 2025, he was released and placed under supervision. In the first weeks after release, he tried unsuccessfully to find a job and was forced to perform compulsory labor. “Even in prison, I was added to the ‘extremists list.’ Under supervision, officers constantly came to my home, inspected the apartment, checked my phone — and finding a job with my background was simply impossible.”
Realizing quickly that staying in Belarus was both unsafe and pointless, Vladislav left for Poland with no savings and no belongings — just one backpack. In early January 2026, he applied for international protection. At the moment, he has no right to work and no means of subsistence.
“All the money I had before my arrest went to a lawyer and to surviving in prison. After my release, it was physically impossible to save anything,” he explains. Vladislav is currently staying temporarily with an acquaintance and cannot afford to rent housing. His medical issues have worsened, especially dental problems, and he needs an examination for his injured arm. He also needs funds for food and basic necessities.
“When we marched together in 2020 under a huge white-red-white flag, there was a feeling that we were strong because we were together,” Vladislav says. “I really hope that feeling is still there. I am asking for help so I can start over.”
Fundraising goal
€1800
€700 — rent
€600 — medical care
€500 — food and basic necessities