Remember the Minsk resident who saved the flag from under the OMON officers' feet in 2017 — at the cost of his freedom? Now he, a former political prisoner, needs help
After participating in the 2020 protests, Andrus Asmalouski left Belarus but returned — persuaded by his beloved. Back home, he faced criminal charges and lost everything — family, business, and property.
"Bysol" has opened a fundraiser to help Andrus build a new life abroad. You can participate here.
Andrus Asmalouski became famous across the internet on March 25, 2017, Freedom Day. During a raid on Yakub Kolas Square, OMON officers knocked a white-red-white flag out of a demonstrator's hands, and it landed on the asphalt near an paddy wagon. Suddenly, a young man appeared in front of the cameras — Asmalouski himself. Andrus loudly declared: "Let's raise the flag again!" — and lifted it. Moments later, the young man was also dragged into the paddy wagon.
Read also: "Let's raise the flag again." The story of the guy who raised the flag and ended up in a paddy wagon
In the evening, the young man was released without a protocol. He believes this happened because it was his first offense. But Andrus had been involved in the protest movement for over 20 years.
And after the events of 2020, Asmalouski became a political prisoner.
"Yes, returning to Belarus was my mistake"
As of 2020, Asmalouski was involved in the car business — he was a representative in Minsk for a consignment store that sold cars throughout the country. An architect by education, in his free time, Andrus helped friends and acquaintances with design and architectural planning.
In September and October 2020, Asmalouski was detained at marches: once it resulted in a fine, the second time — in administrative arrest. The detention was very harsh; Andrus was badly beaten, developing neurosis on the right side of his body.
In late November 2020, he was summoned to the Investigative Committee. He avoided the interrogation, but after a search at his registration address, he eventually went to the law enforcement officers. And that was the point of no return:
"They said I was a suspect in a case under Article 342. I had a Schengen visa, and I also got a Polish national visa, so I quickly packed up and left for Poland."
In Poland, as a victim after his arrest, "Belarusian House" offered him several weeks of rehabilitation. But in the first days of 2021, he had to start building a new life in a new place, and Andrus went to Warsaw.
He rented a cottage and settled Belarusians there, planning to create a shelter. But there was one problem — his beloved refused to leave Belarus until she resolved family complications and document issues.
"She refused to come to me, and effectively because of this, I had to return to Belarus. I had prepared everything for her — found her a job, bought what was needed... I had to leave some things, gave some away."
While the woman remained in Belarus, Asmalouski received unpleasant signals — Andrus's parents were called, and later he realized that he was wanted then.
And yet he chose to go to Belarus. Why?
"Firstly, my common-law wife called me — she said that nothing threatened me and everything in Belarus had long since calmed down. When I returned, we were only arrested half a year later, both of us. Moreover, they came for her, to her address, and found me there.
Of course, I was naive. I thought that since I had already served my time and paid the fine, who would need me? Yes, it was my mistake, but I also did it partly out of desperation, because our relationship began to deteriorate," the man reflects.
When Andrus returned home, his criminal case was suspended due to lack of evidence. Nevertheless, his arrival in Belarus turned out to be unsettling:
"At the border, they debated what to do with me. They searched the entire bus, and I was the last one they held, until they finally let me go. They took all sorts of written pledges — where I would live, what I would do, told me to stay in touch and come at the first summons."
"I only pleaded guilty when the case was closed, after I found out that others had pleaded guilty"
In Belarus, Asmalouski says, he was forgotten for six months — the man explains this by saying that no significant evidence was found against him. He and his beloved were detained later for another episode, for the march on August 23, 2020. A photo of the UCP (United Civil Party) aktiv with 6 party members was found — besides the UCP leader Mikalai Kazlou, Andrus and his partner were also there.
That photo showed flags — the national flag and the UCP flag. With that photo, they were convicted under Article 342:
"The photo surfaced, and all of us were dragged in together as accomplices. There were aggravating circumstances — a group of persons, prior conspiracy... We were divided into two groups to identify the leaders of those groups and give the maximum sentence: in one group, Kazlou was singled out, in the other — me.
Now I wouldn't have done that, but then I did as my common-law wife said. She kept saying that we should admit everything, they would give two years of "chemistry" (correctional labor), we would sit at home and rest. It turned out that I was given three years in a penal colony, and she got two."
The court rendered a decision in the case at the end of October 2022. While Andrus and his beloved were still in Volodarka (remand prison), they tried to register their marriage, but didn't manage to complete the paperwork. Many documents were needed, as they were both divorced.
Andrus proposed marriage. If everything had worked out, the lovers would have had the opportunity to communicate from the colonies: at least correspond, and from time to time have video calls. But they simply didn't have time to register their marriage, and so after three years together, the relationship ended.
His ex-partner was released in spring 2024. When Andrus was released, they didn't even talk — as he was told, the woman had changed a lot behind bars.
Asmalouski served his sentence in a penal colony in Vouchy Nory and was released on April 30, 2025. On May 4, he tried to leave Belarus:
"I bought tickets from Moscow to Chisinau, then wanted to fly to Antalya, Turkey. But at Domodedovo, they told me I was prohibited from leaving the country. After my release, the court had not provided the necessary information to the police.
I returned to Minsk and sought to cancel that travel ban. On August 15, I left, and also changed my passport."
"Every night before leaving, I went to bed worrying if I would be arrested again in the morning"
Behind bars, Andrus lost not only his beloved, but also his property and business. He recalls seeing his garage looted after his release and losing his rented apartment, where he once had renovations and where his belongings were. As for his business, while Andrus was incarcerated, his friend and business partner died. Asmalouski's assets in that company disappeared.
He was still not left in peace. On May 28, Andrus was summoned to the Investigative Committee to close that suspended case from 2020:
"They held me for a couple of hours, checked my phone. I prepared, of course, because the meeting was not sudden — they called me and arranged for me to come.
I didn't want anything else to surface, for them to find some comment or distribution of protest symbols. I don't want to sit there again. Every night before leaving, I went to bed worrying if I would be arrested again in the morning."
Currently, the man is in Georgia and is awaiting a visa to the EU. After leaving Belarus, he underwent medical rehabilitation, and then helped another political prisoner, Raman Ramanau, also come for recovery. But Ramanau, Andrus's friend from the penal colony, did not make it — he died in late April 2026. And the documents he was bringing to Andrus from Belarus with Raman also disappeared.
Building a life anew is not easy. Andrus now combines difficult studies with equally tough work:
"Human rights activists offer former political prisoners retraining. I'm trying to return to my specialty, architectural design, but everything has changed there, much is done by AI.
I found an AI specialty in a German-American online school, where tuition costs more than $3000. Human rights activists were only able to give me a grant for part of the tuition."
Andrus studies from 11 AM to 4 PM, five days a week, but he also needs to earn a living somehow. Since his studies are during the day, he has to work at night, and the man found a job in a grocery store. His work is hard, and to make life a little easier, Asmalouski applied for a personal fundraiser on "Bysol".
"It's work from 10 PM to 10 AM. I return home at 10:30, and by 11 AM, after a night without sleep, I have to study. I study until 4 PM — and then sleep until 9 PM. I work two days on, two days off, but it's still very hard. I'm thinking of quitting that job, I really hope the money from the fundraiser will help," he says.
"Bysol" has opened a fundraiser to help Andrus build a new life abroad. You can participate here.
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