Iryna But-Gusaim, trade union activist and former employee of the office of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDP), celebrates her birthday in prison on March 13.
But-Gusaim, an accountant and information worker for the office of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, was detained on April 19, 2022, during the mass arrests of democratic trade union activists by KGB agents. On the same day she was placed in a pre-trial detention center, and later was charged under Article 342 part. 1 of the Criminal Code, allegedly for group actions that grossly violate public order. The reason for the case was a photo found in her cell phone, which depicted her at one of the protests in 2020.
Her trial at the Minsk City Court began on December 20, 2022, along with the cases of Siargei Antusevich and Aliaksandr Yarashuk.
On December 26th , Judge Valiantsina Ziankevich sentenced Iryna to 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment in a penal colony of general regime, which met the requirements of the prosecution.
As the human rights organizations found her detention illegal, Iryna But-Gusaim was declared a political prisoner. Her minor daughter was left motherless for 1.5 years.