In early January 2023, two local residents were detained in Rahačoŭ (Homieĺ region)—Dzmitryi Lahutsenka and his friend, whose surname is unknown. The reason for the arrest was their informal conversation with the provocateur Yuryi Komar in a Chatroulette video chat room. During their detention, the law enforcers put white-red-white flags on their heads and then forced the two men to wash the floor with the flags.

First, they were convicted under Art. 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences ('Unauthorized picketing'). During the conversation on the Internet, Lahutsenka showed a white-red-white flag. A pro-government Telegram channel posted the video of the conversation on the afternoon of January 4, and in the evening the two men were detained.

Lahutsenka's friend partially admitted his guilt. He explained that they had been drinking alcohol and then started talking to strangers via Chatroulette. While Lahutsenka was talking to a stranger about the war in Ukraine, his friend went to pick firewood and found a white-red-white flag. He handed it over to Lahutsenka, who put it on his shoulders. The stranger recorded their conversation and posted it on the Internet. Besides, according to the police report, "on the video, there is a conversation about the war in Ukraine, and a young man asks to drop weapons with a drone and then wraps around his back a white-red-white flag given to him by his friend". The court found Lahutsenka' friend guilty of picketing in front of the provocateur Komar and arrested him for 15 days. The white-red-white flag was attached to the case file and the computer was seized.

It is known that in early January 2023 Dzmitryi Lahutsenka was also tried under Art. 24.23 of the Code of Administrative Offences, but the result is unknown. On January 19, he was convicted again, but this time for his subscription to the Belsat TV channel, under Art. 19.11 of the Code of Administrative Offences ('storage of information products containing calls for extremist activity'). The court arrested Lahutsenka for 15 days. A criminal case was opened against him under Art. 130 of the Criminal Code ('Inciting other social enmity and hatred').