Political prisoner Volha Brytsikava was being prepared for removal during Cole’s visit, but she objected

In September 2026, following another round of talks in Minsk involving US special envoy John Cole, a group of 25 political prisoners were released. All of them were taken to Lithuania. Some of those released told Zerkalo that another name may have been on the list — Volha Brytsikava, former leader of the independent trade union at the Naftan refinery in Navapolatsk.

She was summoned for “conversations” alongside those who were eventually released and even received an official commendation from the prison administration — something extremely rare for a political prisoner. However, she was firmly opposed to leaving Belarus.

“It may have been an attempt to make up for the harsh treatment”

Natallia — not her real name — is one of the former political prisoners released from Penal Colony No. 4 in September 2026. She says that prisoners had no way of seeing any lists in advance. However, there were signs suggesting what was about to happen.

“There were indirect signs. For example, people from the city kept coming and summoning the same group of prisoners for conversations. In our case, those repeatedly called in were exactly the people who were taken out on 14–16 September, plus Brytsikava,” she recalls.

According to Natallia, shortly before 16 September Volha was also given an official commendation “for good work”.

“A commendation from the penal colony is extremely rare. Prisoners placed on Category 10 preventive monitoring — the ‘extremist’ register on which all political prisoners are placed — and, moreover, those classified as ‘persistent offenders’, are never given such commendations. Never,” Natallia explains.

“So it is possible to assume that this was an attempt to make up for the harsh treatment of Brytsikava ahead of her [planned release]. She is one of those people who has not been broken in the slightest and has always used every lawful means available to defend prisoners’ rights. Because of this, the administration constantly picked on her and punished her. These two indirect signs suggest that she was most likely supposed to be part of our group.”

Natallia also recalled a conversation involving members of the prison administration while Volha’s belongings were being checked.

“The head of the security department asked the person responsible for the storage room: ‘Where are her belongings kept?’ When he was told, ‘Near the entrance,’ he replied: ‘Move them closer to the exit.’ It was a joke, of course, but quite a telling one.”

“I think she made her position very clear to them”

Another former political prisoner, Yuliya — also not her real name — recalls being summoned to the prison administration shortly before her release. As she approached the building, she noticed several other women standing outside.

“Everyone who was standing there was later taken out of the country. Brytsikava was among them too. Our conversations [with representatives of the administration] were very brief, but hers lasted a long time — about twenty minutes.”

The women did not have time to discuss what had been said during the meeting. Just a few days later, Yuliya was taken to Lithuania. Volha was not among the group.

“She had always taken the position that she would not leave Belarus and would not allow them to take her out. She said she was not going anywhere and that, if necessary, she would simply try to cross the border back into Belarus. I think she made her position very clear to them. She always argued that there were no legal grounds [for forcibly removing her from the country]. Apparently, she communicated this so categorically that they decided: well, if you don’t want to go, then stay in prison.”

Yuliya describes Volha as a strong and positive person. She recalls how Brytsikava began corresponding with the prison administration in an effort to defend prisoners’ rights. After that, the authorities began targeting her over formal pretexts, eventually resulting in her being placed in a punishment cell.

“She really is a strong person, and she cannot be broken. You can see immediately that trying is pointless — all these administrative procedures simply break against her,” Yuliya says.

Volha Brytsikava is the former head of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union organisation at Naftan and previously headed the company’s petroleum products sales department. She worked at the enterprise for 16 years before being dismissed in 2020 because of her trade union activity and civic position.

She had previously been repeatedly detained for speaking out against the war and for distributing materials that the Belarusian authorities classify as “extremist”. In 2022, she spent a total of 105 days in detention, including 75 consecutive days.

In August 2023, Brytsikava was detained in connection with a criminal case. According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, she was tried twice: first under Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code — “incitement of racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord” — and later under Part 1 of Article 361-4, “facilitating extremist activity”, and Part 3 of Article 361, “calls for sanctions”.

Volha Brytsikava is currently being held in Penal Colony No. 4.

Read in rus