Volha Brytsikava
Political prisoner
Date of birth: 4 November 1971
Date of detention: 11 August 2023
Charges indicted:
- Art. 361 of the Criminal Code — Calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus
- Art. 130 of the Criminal Code — Incitement to hatred
- Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code — Promoting extremist activities
Sentence: 6 years
Prison sentence start date: 11 June 2024
Judge: Halina Bondal, Yauhen Burunou
Prison: Pre-trial detention center No. 2
Cases: The case of labor unions
Notes: War in Ukraine
Statement on the status of a political prisoner
Godparent: Kevin Kühnert is a member of the German Bundestag for the SPD
Volha Brytsikava is the leader of the independent trade union "Naftan". She worked for the company for 16 years and was fired because of her position.
In May 2022, she was released after 75 days of arrest for speaking out against the war. She was detained on November 1 again under administrative charges. Two days later, the court found her guilty of distributing “extremist materials” and sentenced her to 15 days of arrest. On November 11, she was sentenced to 15 days for “unauthorized picketing” again.
In August 2023, Volha was detained again under Art. 361 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.
Brytsikava was charged under Part 1 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code (calls for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus).
On April 8, Judge Halina Bondal sentenced her to three years' imprisonment.
On June 28, 2024, she was added to the list of Belarusian citizens, foreign citizens and stateless persons involved in extremist activities.
Another closed trial was held on August 20, 2024. Judge Yauhen Burunou was appointed to consider the case. The political prisoner is charged under three articles of the Criminal Code :
- Part 3 of Article 361 (calls for restrictive measures (sanctions), other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus);
- Part 1 of Article 130 (incitement to hatred);
- Part 1 of Article 361-4 (promoting extremist activities).
She is being held in pre-trial detention center No. 2.
