human rights defender

Anastasiya Lazarenka

Actions and Campaigns

Organization affiliation

  • Maskoŭski District of Minsk
  • The Legal counselling centre

HRD's year of birth

1982

HRD's Gender

Woman

Type of HRD

  • Lawyer

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Civil and political rights

HRD's geographical origin

Urban

Current Status

In prison (sentenced)

HRD's bio and work

Anastasiya is an attorney. She counselled the survivors who were arrested after the 2020 presidential election and were tortured while in detention. She also defended citizens in politically motivated trials.

Anastasia lived outside the city in a private house with her son and two dogs - a husky and a dachshund. There, she enjoyed gardening and landscaping. She built and renovated her house by herself.

Anastasiya was detained two days after her 40th birthday. The security forces came looking for her armed with machine guns and wearing bulletproof vests. They climbed through the window and broke down the door.

Anastasia loves picking mushrooms and fishing. She loves the sea and always tried to go on holiday with her son whenever possible. She has a beautiful voice and an ear for music. Anastasiya has an elderly father and a son suffering from Crohn's disease.

Detained since

Jun 2, 2022

Charge(s)

  • Creating disturbances
  • Other

Sentence

6 years

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Europe: Eastern Europe

Location of detention - City/Town

Homieĺ

Location of detention - Facility

Penal colony No. 4. 246035, Homieĺ, vulica Antoshkina 3

Any other relevant documents

“I Swear to Fulfill the Duties of Defense Lawyer Honestly and Faithfully”: Politically Motivated Crackdown on Human Rights Lawyers in Belarus https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/05/27/i-swear-fulfill-duties-defense-lawyer-honestly-and-faithfully/politically

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