Security forces conduct 'mask-shows' for Belarusians who can no longer be criminally prosecuted for participating in marches – as a preventative measure
Nasha Niva was informed of a new practice of retaliation for participation in the 2020 protests from multiple sources.
Security forces brutally broke into several apartments in Mahilioŭ, but after intimidation and a preventative conversation, the detainees were released home because the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution under protest Article 342 of the Criminal Code (under which they were usually tried for participating in marches) had expired.
The intimidation operation looked like this. GUBOPik officers, several individuals, arrived around 7 AM. When a person opened the door after the banging, they were forced face down on the floor, their arms twisted. At home, things were rummaged through and scattered (seemingly more for show than with the aim of finding anything).
Afterwards, the person was taken to the local police station for a preventative conversation. They spoke about responsibility for any protest activity and how "extremists" are tracked. They also made them sign a document stating that the people had listened to everything and understood the risk of criminal liability for any new instances of protest.
People were visited for the 2020 marches. Security forces explained that this was "to keep them on edge." They were not taken into custody for administrative detention.
It is unknown if this practice will be applied only in Mahilioŭ or in other regions as well.
In recent years, for marches, when the statute of limitations for this article was still in effect, courts usually imposed restricted liberty (often referred to as 'home chemistry'). As of August 2025, the five-year term for criminal prosecution began to expire (each protest action has its own date depending on when it occurred). Those who were detained at that moment but not yet convicted were either held in pre-trial detention until trial and then released, or had their criminal case transferred to an administrative one.
If something similar has happened to you or your acquaintances in another city in Belarus, please write to "Nasha Niva" at [email protected] or to the editor on Telegram @nn_editor. You can also contact the journalists of the editorial office whom you know personally.
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