Report the detention to Viasna and BYSOL; from Belarus, via a trusted person abroad.
Find a lawyer, and contact rights groups only from devices that aren't checked.
Arrange notarised guardianship papers if there are children in the family.
Who helps (7) ↓Every organisation on this page has a designation: read the note on its card before writing.
Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
Someone close has been detained in Belarus
Human rights groups advise reporting the detention to Viasna (@ViasnaSOS) and BYSOL and finding a lawyer. Both are designated 'extremist' in Belarus, and contact with them can lead to prosecution. If you are in Belarus, pass on information through a trusted person abroad, or from a device that is not checked, over a secure channel.
Detainees are often pushed into confessing and recording 'repentance' videos, which are later used in the case. It helps if they know they may refuse to testify against themselves.
Pressure extends to the family, up to declaring it 'socially dangerous' and threatening to remove children. Arrange notarised guardianship papers in advance.
By law, within 12 hours of detention an adult family member or close relative must be told about the detention and where the person is held, or the detainee must be allowed to do so (Belarus Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 115). In practice this does not always happen, so if you have heard nothing it does not mean you missed something: report the detention to rights groups and look for a lawyer.
Designations of organisations in this guide: Viasna Human Rights Centre (extremist in Belarus); BYSOL Belarusian Solidarity Foundation (extremist in Belarus). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
Money and fundraisers for political prisoners and their families, help with relocation, lawyers and medical care. The hotline can advise on risks before a trip.
The only official bot is @help_bysol. It never asks for money or SMS codes.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
Material and psychological help, group therapy for former political prisoners and their families, Polish courses, advice on humanitarian visas.
Hotline +48 695 807 059 (also WhatsApp and Signal), weekdays 14:00-16:00. For victims of repression: repressions@belaruskidom.eu. Use WhatsApp or Signal from a phone other than the one you take to Belarus. Free in-person sessions with a psychologist for victims of repression from Belarus: proof of repression is required and places are limited.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
Free therapy for families of political prisoners, victims of repression, activists and people who left Belarus. No personal data is collected.
The foundation is designated an 'extremist formation' in Belarus (2022). If you are in Belarus, getting its help can be used to open a case. Write from a device that is not checked.
The only official bot is @stranafund_psy_Bot; the foundation's website links to it.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.
Last signs of activity: January 2026. Before writing, check on the organisation's own site that it still works.
Food and household packages for families of political prisoners and people who fled repression. Requests go through partner organisations.
Since January 2024 the project has been designated an 'extremist formation' in Belarus, and people who received its help were prosecuted en masse. Do not contact it from Belarus or pay from Belarusian cards.
USA; helps in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia and other countriesextremist in Belaruschecked against its site 26 September 2026
Get in touch ↓
In Belarus this organisation is designated 'extremist'. If you are in Belarus or will travel there, write to it only from a device you will not take across the border and that is not checked.