human rights defender
Andrei Chapiuk
Actions and Campaigns
Organization affiliation
- Human Rights Center "Viasna"
HRD's year of birth
1996
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- NGO member
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
Released
HRD's bio and work
Andrei is a volunteer at Viasna, he is an open-minded and hard-working person. Before his imprisonment, he studied to become an IT specialist. Even in prison, he still tries to study and read a lot. When the protests began, he prepared parcels of basic necessities for prisoners who had no one to help them.
Before his imprisonment, Andrei was into Thai boxing, went regularly to the gym and practised wrestling. In prison, he continues practicing sports. Andrei's eyesight is deteriorating (a common problem among prisoners), so he decided to read less.
He loves nature and used to pick mushrooms and berries. He also loves animals and has had two guinea pigs.
Detained since
Oct 2, 2020
Date of release
Apr 18, 2025
Charge(s)
- Creating disturbances
- Damage to public property
- Other
- Subversion
Sentence
5 years and 9 months
Latitude: 52.832537931481546
Longitude: 25.481237299491102
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Europe: Eastern Europe
Location of detention - City/Town
Damanava
Location of detention - Facility
Penal colony No. 22. 225295, Brest region, Ivacevičy, station Damanava, PO Box 20
Recent case update / evolution
He was released from the penal colony on April 18, 2025, after serving the full sentence imposed by the court.
Andrei was subsequently placed under "preventive supervision", prohibiting him from leaving the country. In light of the continued and escalating reprisals, Andrei Chapiuk was forced to leave Belarus to ensure his safety.
Documented by
