Alena Hnauk is an activist from Pružany. She was first sentenced by Judge Ina Klyshpach to two years of home confinement for participating in the so-called “round dance protest" on September 13, 2020, in Brest.

Later, she was convicted again for 'insulting the president of Belarus'. In total, Judge Dzmitryi Kurouski sentenced Alena Hnauk to 3 years of home confinement.

While serving her sentence, the woman was arrested several times. On January 11, 2022, she was arrested and sentenced to 15 days of administrative imprisonment for violating the home confinement regime. After that, Alena Hnauk was not released—instead, she was transferred to a pre-trial detention center and faced criminal charges under two articles of the Criminal Code: Art. 367 ('Defamation of the president of Belarus') and Art. 369-1 ('Discrediting Belarus'). According to the case file, on November 23, 2021, Alena Hnauk deliberately posted on Facebook and Instagram "false information about the legal status of foreign citizens in Belarus aiming to cause significant harm to the state interests". In her posts, she talked about the Kurdish families and the situation of migrants in Belarus. Her "appeal" to Lukashenka was qualified as defamation against him.

In March 2022, Alena Hnauk was transferred to the National Center for Mental Health in Navinki, Minsk.

In May 2022, she went on a hunger strike for more than a week, demanding that her letters reach the addressees.

On 17 June the Pružany District Court sentenced the 65-year-old political prisoner to 3.5 years of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony and a fine of 3,200 rubles (about 950 US dollars). Judge Yuryi Zhytko passed such a verdict at the request of the prosecutor. After the announcement of the sentence, Alena Hnauk was placed in solitary confinement (a punishment cell) for more than a month and a half.

On August 9, 2022, the Brest Regional Court considered the appeal filed by Alena Hnauk. Judge Sviatlana Kramianiouskaya upheld the sentence. A week later, the political prisoner was transferred from the pre-trial detention center to penal colony #4 in Homieĺ.

In October 2022, the KGB included the political prisoner in the 'List of persons involved in extremist activities'.

In December 2022, the administration of the penal colony placed Alena Hnauk in an enhanced security cell until February 24, 2023. Besides, she was deprived of almost all parcels, calls, and meetings, and the amount that she can spend on essential goods was reduced from BYN 96 to 32 (approx. from USD 34 to 11).

It became known that the penal colony administration had initiated a criminal case against Alena Hnauk under Part 1 of Article 411 of the Criminal Code for 'malicious disobedience to the requirements of the penal colony administration'. On April 11, 2023, Judge Yaraslau Paremski began hearing the case in the Čyhunačny District Court of Homieĺ. Alena Hnauk's health worsened in prison. It is known that she dismissed her lawyer, because the lawyer signed the interrogation protocol, despite the political prisoner's request not to do so. On April 18, at the trial, witnesses were interrogated, who were confused in their answers, and the political prisoner was removed from the courtroom. On April 28, 2023, the verdict was announced in the third criminal case against Alena Hnauk—12 months of imprisonment in a general-security penal colony.

In early May 2023, it became known that Alena Hnauk was transferred to remand prison #3 in Homieĺ.

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Senior woman sentenced to 3.5 years in jail

On 17 June the Pružany District Court sentenced 65-year-old political prisoner activist Alena Hnauk to 3.5 years in a general-security penal colony and a fine of 3,200 rubles (about 950 US dollars).