Help Belarusians find safety from terror.

In 2025, the need for support for victims of political terror and repression in Belarus remained high. After their release, political prisoners continue to face pressure in Belarus or seek safety in neighboring countries such as Poland and Lithuania. There, they often have to start over without knowing the language, without savings, and frequently without proper documents. We believe resocialization support is essential, but it is impossible to rebuild one’s life without financial resources. Therefore, financial assistance remains one of our priorities.

In 2025, we provided one-time financial support of €1,000 to 500 people. These funds can be used at the recipients’ discretion—for housing, medicine, clothing, or language courses. People decide for themselves which needs are most urgent. 

Natalia Dulina, a former political prisoner and ex-lecturer of Italian at a university in Minsk, has started a new life in Lithuania after her politically motivated imprisonment. She received such assistance, and a separate fundraising campaign was organized for her on the BYSOL platform. She says:
"The support given to people in this situation is truly necessary. It helps to get back on your feet. It also shows that others care. It provides significant psychological support. In prison, they create an atmosphere where you are seen as someone who wasted their time. In prison, you are treated, if not with hatred, then with arrogance and contempt: you are nobody, criminals, terrorists."

At the end of the year, there were two mass releases of political prisoners. Unfortunately, many were expelled from their country without being asked. Over 150 people arrived in a new country with only the clothes they were arrested in years earlier. For them, we launched two emergency fundraising campaigns, each reaching record amounts: €111,000 for the first campaign and €260,000 for the second. Both campaigns were completed exceptionally quickly, raising more than double the initial targets.

The evacuation team worked intensively throughout the year, responding to cases such as the “Gayun case” and ongoing systematic repression. Even after release, many political prisoners were forced to seek safety outside Belarus. Over the year, we handled 140 evacuation cases. Behind this dry term “cases” are real people, sometimes entire families. Today, they are safe.