Lawyer Dźmitryj Łajeŭski sentenced to three years in prison on extremism charges
September 10, Pozirk. A judge of the Minsk City Court on September 9 sentenced prominent lawyer Dźmitryj Łajeŭski to three years in prison, finding him guilty of facilitating extremism and discrediting Belarus over his interviews with independent media outlets.
Łajeŭski was taken into custody in the courtroom, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.
In 2020 and 2021, Łajeŭski defended presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka and his lawyer Maksim Znak, both sentenced to lengthy prison terms on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Łajeŭski was disbarred two days after the trial.
In December 2025, Babaryka and Znak were released and forcibly taken out of Belarus as part of a large group of political prisoners following talks between Alaksandar Łukašenka and a delegation led by US Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale.
In August 2025, Belarus’ Committee for State Security (KGB) added the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers to its list of extremist groups, naming Dźmitry Łajeŭski as its member along with Maryja Kolesava-Hudzilina.
In 2011 and 2012, Łajeŭski defended Aleś Bialacki (Ales Bialiatski), head of the Viasna Human Rights Center, accused of tax evasion over Viasna’s activities.
Łajeŭski criticized authorities over the 2020 presidential election and their subsequent crackdown on opponents. He complained about confinement conditions for Babaryka, who was held incommunicado for long periods of time.
Human rights defenders reported in December 2025 that at least 146 lawyers in Belarus had lost their licenses since 2020, while dozens faced criminal charges, often for defending the regime’s critics and protesters.
As part of their post-election crackdown on dissent, authorities have taken full control of the legal profession, abolishing independent legal practice and confining lawyers to legal consultancy offices governed by the justice ministry. Many lawyers fled the country, fearing politically motivated persecution.
According to the International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk, the number of lawyers in Belarus dropped from 2,200 in 2021 to 1,600 in January 2025.
Alaksandar Łukašenka said that the bar should act “based on the norms of law, not on some made-up norms like freedom of speech and other freedoms.”
Belarusian Nobel Prize winner Bialacki meets with US special envoy
September 9, Pozirk. Belarusian Nobel Prize winner Aleś Bialacki (Ales Bialiatski), who was released from a Belarusian prison last December, met with US Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale in Washington on September 8. According to Bialacki, the meeting “took place in a warm atmosphere,” the …
