Urgent: Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei transferred to closed refugee camp in Lithuania
Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei placed in closed Lithuanian refugee camp after asylum filing.
On February 26, 2026 Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei was taken to a closed refugee detention camp in Lithuania immediately after submitting his renewed application for political asylum.
As you know, Siarhei filed a repeated asylum request today. His case has remained extremely complex for a long time. Lithuanian authorities previously classified him as a threat to national security because of his past military service in Belarus.
The context of his story is essential.
Siarhei comes from a family of career military officers. From an early age, he was prepared for a military path and, while still a teenager, was sent to a military academy. After graduation, he was legally required to serve, as Belarusian law obliges graduates of military institutions to complete mandatory service.
However, as an adult, after experiencing military life, he made a conscious and principled decision to leave the military profession. He chose a non-violent path, refused to take up arms, and rebuilt his life as a welder.
During the 2020 protests in Belarus, Siarhei participated in peaceful demonstrations and became one of the organizers of a strike committee at the construction site of the Ostrovets nuclear power plant – a facility located approximately 30 kilometers from Vilnius and widely viewed as a serious regional security concern.
Despite this clear transformation and his anti-militarist stance, his past military education was used as grounds to deny asylum in Lithuania.
Today he submitted a renewed request for protection. Immediately after the procedure, he was transferred to a closed refugee camp.
Siarhei is currently without communication and without a phone. He is being held in an isolated, locked facility with restricted freedom of movement. We are unable to contact him and do not know what is happening inside.
For a person who consciously rejected militarism and publicly opposed a controversial strategic project such as the Ostrovets nuclear power plant, detention under such conditions is especially hard and dramatic.
We continue legal action and are working to ensure full respect for his rights under Lithuanian law and international refugee protection standards.
Freedom for Belarusian conscientious objector Siarhei in Lithuania!
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