Released / deported

• Straight away, let Viasna and BYSOL know about you (both 'extremist' in Belarus): from abroad, or if you are in Belarus, only from a device that is not checked or through a trusted person abroad. BYSOL gives financial aid to former political prisoners and helps with evacuation and personal fundraisers; in September 2026 it opened an emergency appeal for 25 released people.
• If you were taken abroad without a passport: ask that country's authorities for a document and status. In Poland and Lithuania, Belarusian House and Human Constanta help; on passports, see Pashpart.org.
• If you stayed in Belarus, supervision, repeat summons and pressure are possible. Human rights groups advise contacting foundations from devices unlikely to be inspected.
• Getting back to ordinary life takes time. Viasna has a guide for families.
• Free psychological help: 'Psychologist Nearby' by the Country for Life foundation (@stranafund_psy_Bot, no personal data collected), Volnyja (a personal mentor and referrals to psychologists), in-person sessions in Warsaw at Belarusian House and Free Belarus Center, and in Russian and Belarusian in Poland at Polskie Forum Migracyjne. Country for Life, Volnyja and Belarusian House are designated 'extremist formations' in Belarus: if you are in Belarus, getting their help can be used to open a case (art. 361-4 Criminal Code). Write from a device that is not checked.
• Keep everything about your health and imprisonment: certificates, extracts, notes with dates and names. Testimony about torture in Belarus is collected for future investigations, including in other countries, by the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB); Viasna is one of its lead organisations. In March 2026 the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into the situation in Lithuania/Belarus. Whether to tell your story is your decision.
• In Belarus, a psychologist must by law disclose information at the request of investigators and report grave and especially grave crimes (Law on Psychological Help, art. 15). The authorities decide what counts as such a crime, so it is better not to talk about politics with a psychologist in Belarus.
• People expelled from Belarus are often taken out without a passport, with only a release certificate on a sheet of A4; keep it safe, as at first it is your only document. In earlier expulsions to Lithuania, people received a temporary stay certificate, then a humanitarian residence permit and, if they had no passport, an alien's travel document; the residence permit took about 3–4 months.

Designations of organisations in this guide: Viasna Human Rights Centre (extremist in Belarus); BYSOL Belarusian Solidarity Foundation (extremist in Belarus); Belarusian House in Warsaw (extremist in Belarus); Human Constanta (extremist in Belarus); Pashpart.org (Tsikhanouskaya's Office) (extremist in Belarus); Free Belarus Center (extremist in Belarus); Psychologist Nearby (Country for Life foundation) (extremist in Belarus); Volnyja (extremist in Belarus). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.

current as of 7 October 2026. More: BYSOL: get help (extremist in Belarus); BYSOL: emergency aid for released prisoners, September 2026 (extremist in Belarus); Viasna: guide for the families of released prisoners (extremist in Belarus); Country for Life: 'Psychologist Nearby' (in Russian) (extremist in Belarus); Volnyja (in Belarusian) (extremist in Belarus); IAPB: International Accountability Platform for Belarus; IAPB: statement on the ICC investigation (13 Mar 2026); Nasha Niva: 15 released prisoners expelled to Lithuania without documents (19 Mar 2026) (extremist in Belarus); Current Time: life without a passport after expulsion (10 Mar 2026) (foreign agent, undesirable, extremist materials in Belarus); Current Time: expelled prisoners' passports cancelled (31 Mar 2026) (foreign agent, undesirable, extremist materials in Belarus); Zerkalo: what documents released prisoners get in Lithuania (18 Dec 2025) (extremist in Belarus)