# Viasna: at least 75 Belarusian military personnel have faced criminal cases since 2020

- URL: https://syn.by/en/state/human-rights/viasna-75-belarusian-military-criminal-cases/
- Published: 2026-11-05T18:00:32+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T18:00:32+00:00
- Section: Human Rights
- Language: en
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/gosudarstvo/prava-cheloveka/75-belorusskikh-voennykh-figurantami-ugolovnykh-del.md
- BE edition: https://syn.by/dziarzhava/pravy-chalaveka/75-bielaruskich-vajskoucau-fihurantami-kryminalnych-spravau.md

> According to the Viasna human rights centre, 33 of them are in custody. In 2026 alone, at least 13 servicemen have been convicted.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/illustration-6304-1024x585.webp)

At least 75 Belarusian servicemen have been prosecuted in criminal cases since 2020, Viasna reported. The human rights centre has been designated an extremist organization in Belarus. According to Viasna, these are politically motivated prosecutions.

In June 2026, Viasna gave a different figure: at least 68 military personnel subjected to politically motivated criminal prosecution since 2020.

As of 5 November 2026, human rights defenders say, 33 of them are in custody. In 2026, according to them, at least 13 military personnel have been convicted.

According to Viasna, at least 15 military personnel have been charged with "treason against the state" under Article 356 of the Criminal Code, and another 13 with an "act of terrorism" under Article 289.

At least 12 people, according to human rights defenders, received prison terms of 20 to 25 years. Some of the sentences were handed down in absentia.

Two defendants in the "BYPOL" case were recently sentenced to 21 and 25 years. Human rights defenders call these the harshest sentences known to have been handed down to Belarusian military personnel.

On 26 October 2026, the Minsk Regional Court sentenced three political prisoners. According to Viasna, one was sentenced to 17 years, another to 21 years and a third to 25 years in prison. The difference between the shortest and longest terms is 47.1%. In total, they were tried under nine serious articles of the Criminal Code.

Among those convicted in 2026, according to Viasna, are former officers, paratroopers, special forces members and border guards.

The latest known mass detentions took place in spring 2026: in March, at least eight people were detained in the case of the United Transitional Cabinet, which the KGB has designated a "terrorist organization". They are accused of participating in a terrorist organization.