Uladzimir Bulauski
cultural manager
Date of birth: 15 February 1989
Date of detention: 14 December 2022
Charges indicted:
Art. 342 of the Criminal Code — Organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order, or active participation in them
Prison: Pre-trial detention center No. 2
Uladzimir Bulauski, an activist and cultural manager from Viciebsk, was detained for the first time on February 27, 2022—the main voting day of the referendum—and was arrested for 15 days. He was to be released, but instead of that five law enforces brought Bulauski home, conducted a search, and then took him with them again.
Bulauski was arrested for the second time after three more persons were detained on December 14, 2022 in Viciebsk. All the four detainees are related to the activities of the ROK'I PUB gastropub.
As reported by the Viciebsk branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center, in the opinion of the pub visitors, one of the reasons for the detention could be the recent concert of Iva Sativa—the pseudonim of Yana Smaliaha, a Belarusian singer and the wife of the former political prisoner Liavon Khalatran. Probably the concert provoked an unscheduled audit of the pub's activity. The local Financial Investigation Department initiated a case against the gastropub for non-payment of taxes. Most likely, Uladzimir Bulauski was also detained as a defendant in that case, as an organizer of the concerts in Viciebsk.
During the search, the law enforcers found photos of Bulauski taking part in the 2020 post-election protests.A criminal case was opened against him.