We kindly ask you to pay attention to the case of a Belarusian citizen, artisan, feminist, activist, a mother of six children YULIYA PRASANAVA (case ILTU No. 90010145108 within the Migration Department of Lithuania) and to help “Our House” to stop her deportation to Belarus and to help Yuliya to get a temporary residence permit in Lithuania on the impossibility to return to Belarus to because Yuliya faces political persecution and a long prison term in Belarus due to her protest activities and active civil position.

At the moment Yuliya is illegally staying in Lithuania and she received an official written notification from the Lithuanian migration department that she will be forcibly deported to Belarus. At any moment the Lithuanian Department of Migration can deport her to Belarus. Yuliya is very depressed and suicidal because she is afraid of being tortured and dead in a Belarusian prison.

Yuliya’s case description:

YULIYA PRASANAVA is a citizen of Belarus, a blogger, a craftsman, and a mother of six children, two of whom are minors. Her youngest son was born in 2009, and her youngest daughter in 2014.

Her daughter Sonya has a confirmed diagnosis of ADHD with an autistic component, and she was registered at a psychoneurological dispensary in Minsk. In Lithuania, she visits a psychologist and received an individual learning program at school in August 2023. Since spring 2024, she has been studying at school with a tutor.

As of October 9, 2024, Sonya’s diagnosis has also been confirmed in Lithuania: Autism Spectrum Disorder. Following a psychiatrist’s referral, they have started the process of applying for disability status.

In 2020 Yuliya started following the presidential election campaign and was outraged by the lawlessness and repression, wore a white bracelet to signify her position and participated in protests, white sheets were pasted on the windows at home.

On August 9, 2020, Yuliya sent to several opposition Telegram channels via bots a video of Victor Tsoi’s song “We’re Waiting for Change” playing at full volume in the courtyard. Later, all of these channels were declared extremist, and the data on those who sent these videos became available to Main Directorate of MIA for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (MDCOCC) and KGB officers, as a current MDCOCC officer was infiltrated into the headquarters of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her structures and got all contacts and information. Several hundred people were arrested and received various terms of imprisonment.

After September 13, 2020, Yuliya continued to participate in protests in her neighborhood (in Kamennaya Gorka). Yuliya and her younger daughter Sonia bought white and red balloons and distributed them to people in solidarity chains.

Since August 9, 2020, Yuliya has been posting on her Instagram profile (at that time her Instagram page had about 20,000 followers) everything that was happening, including videos of violent crackdowns on protesters. She published information about what was happening in the country in social networks. She made reposts from extremist channels NEXTA and TUT.BY. She published information about the collection of fines for detainees. She also transferred money to help pay off fines and help the victims of repressions.

The audience on Yuliya’s Instagram page was very active, and all publications caused resonance and a lot of comments from different people. Among other things, unknown people wrote her explicit threats, telling her to sit quietly, take care of her children and stay out of politics and participation in protests.

As Yuliya was an artisan and took orders, all personal information was freely available on the Internet. It was not difficult for detractors to find out Yuliya’s address and contacts. Accordingly, all the information from her page was passed to the police.

In October 2020, the district’s Telegram chat room wrote that television was coming to the school during lessons. And it was decided to organize a protest action, to come to the school with white-red-white flags. Yuliya was one of the first to arrive. “Autozaks” (dark green colored cars to take protesters to the police station) were already parked outside the school. The entrance was cordoned off. Yuliya broke into the school and at the entrance the director said that the children were taken outside the school and released. Her son did not turn up at home. Yuliya ran around the neighborhood looking for him. In a neighboring courtyard she saw her son running in tears, followed by several riot policemen in riot gear, stomping, laughing and shouting “run, run”. Then they stopped him, pulled him by his rucksack, slapped him, kicked him and only then let him go. The child was very scared, he was shaking. After that, at night he woke up screaming and said that he couldn’t run away, he didn’t have time.

Many people Yuliya knew from social networks and protests had already been arrested, and she realized that sooner or later they would come for her.

Yuliya’s husband had been in Lithuania on a work visa (type D) since 2019 and had taken out a working residence permit since October 21, 2020.

On November 9, 2020, Yuliya and her younger children were granted Lithuanian visas (type D).

On November 12, 2020, Yuliya and her two youngest children left Belarus and arrived to Vilnius, Lithuania.

When moving, Yuliya tried to protect herself and her children. She heard that phones are searched at the border, so she deleted everything she could: all videos and photos, cleaned social networks, unsubscribed from all channels and deleted Telegram, including all evidence of her participation in the protests and all her posts on social networks.

Yuliya has not returned to Belarus.

While in Lithuania, Yuliya resumed her participation in the district Telegram chat “Kamennaya Gorka 3”.

At the end of February 2021, this chat room was hacked by the police and all information from the chat room fell into the hands of the authorities.

On March 2, 2021, all active members of the chat room (30 people), including Yuliya’s good friends, were arrested and charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code (organization and active participation in unsanctioned mass events). As a result of searches, all photo and video materials from the courtyard marches, in which Yuliya took part, fell into the hands of the Investigative Committee.

After that, a neighborhood policeman came to the older children who stayed in Belarus and wanted to talk to Yuliya. When he learnt that she had left, he asked to remove the white sheets from the windows. After that Yuliya decided not to publish information about herself in social networks in order not to put the children who stayed in Minsk in danger.

In the spring of 2021, over the course of a week, there was a series of calls to the home phone from strangers. They asked how to contact Yuliya, then the children stopped answering and switched off the home phone.

In February 2022, Yuliya’s husband Sergei travelled to Minsk on business and took Yuliya’s Belarusian SIM card with him. As soon as he switched on his phone in Belarus with this SIM card, calls from unknown numbers started immediately. The same thing happened on the trip in the summer of 2022.

On October 6, 2022, two unknown persons came to the flat in Minsk, where Yuliya lived before and where her older children live now. They did not identify themselves. They wanted to know how to contact Yuliya. Her daughter did not open the door. Then they asked who Yuliya was and asked her name and surname. The daughter answered these questions.

On October 28, 2022, Yuliya’s daughter is informed that she has been fired and is on the KGB’s radar.

Her daughter is still unable to get a job in Belarus because her characterization says that she is “unreliable due to her political views”.

On January, 20 2023, an unknown woman came to the flat in Minsk, where one of Yuliya’s sons lives. She demanded to show Yuliya’s belongings as proof that Yuliya lived there. When she did not receive such confirmation, she threatened her son that she would call the police if he did not give her contacts where Yuliya could be contacted. Under threats, the son gave Yuliya’s Lithuanian phone number. On the same day, an unknown person wrote to Yuliya on Viber and demanded to inform her whether she was in Belarus, in case of refusal to answer she threatened to file a search warrant.

Yuliya made three attempts to apply for a residence permit in Lithuania (spring 2021, July 9, 2021, September 17, 2021), but her request was rejected three times.

After her visa expired and attempts at further legalization failed, Yuliya had a choice – leave her husband and children, return to Belarus and go to prison, or stay in Lithuania illegally.

In spring 2022, “Our House” signed a volunteer contract with Yuliya, after which she started volunteering at the humanitarian warehouse with other women: she sorted clothes and humanitarian aid and distributed it to Belarusian and Ukrainian refugees.

Since May 28, 2022, Yuliya and her younger daughter Sofia started attending classes organized by “Our House” for adults and children: English language, creative classes and classes of Belarusian folklore. Then Yuliya started volunteering at English classes as an interpreter together with Olga Karach, the director of “Our House”.

On September 28, 2022, Lithuanian lawyer Mantas Danielius, who helped “Our House” as a lawyer in the first half of 2022, was detained in Lithuania by the Lithuanian police. As it turned out, the Belarusian KGB recruited a Lithuanian citizen to spy on “Our House”, accordingly, Mantas knew all the volunteers of “Our House”, including Yuliya, and all these data of our volunteers were transferred to the Belarusian KGB. We assume that Yuliya’s data also got to the Belarusian KGB and she is facing criminal prosecution in Belarus.

In August 2023, Yuliya organized a creative club “Sewn Stories” in cooperation with “Our House”. The classes were attended by refugees from Belarus and Ukraine, as well as Lithuanian citizens. Announcements of the club’s classes and reports about the classes were published in social networks and on the website of “Our House”. A small interview with Yuliya was also published in the web site of “Our House” recognized as an extremist web site in Belarus.

Since “Our House” is recognized as an extremist organization in Belarus, the materials of the “Our House” website, Telegram channels, YouTube channels of “Our House” and of Olga Karach are recognized as extremist, and Yuliya Prasanova is a volunteer of “Our House”, when she returns to Belarus, a criminal case “for extremism” will automatically be brought against her, which implies imprisonment for up to 7 years.

While in Lithuania, Yuliya actively participates in actions and rallies in support of Belarusian and Ukrainian refugees. She is one of the leaders of the humanitarian warehouse for Belarusian and Ukrainian refugees, where she sorts, folds and gives out clothes, bed linen, towels, dishes, shoes, toys, medicine, and food to people in need.

In social networks she openly expresses her position and condemnation of the pressure of the Belarusian authorities against peaceful people.

Actively comments on posts of “Our House” deemed extremist on social networks.

On January 30, 2023, Yulia applied to the Department of Migration for political asylum in Lithuania.

In January 19, 2024, the Migration Department of the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Lithuania denied the Yuliya request for political asylum in Lithuania (case Nr. ILTU 90010145108), May 22, 2024 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Lithuania rejected the appeal against the judgement and upheld it.

The official reason for the refusal of political asylum is that the Department of Migration of Lithuania believes that it is safe for Yuliya to return to Belarus and that she is not in any danger there.

This is not true.

Yuliya faces up to 7 years imprisonment and torture in a Belarus prison for “extremism”.

On June 7, 2024 the Lithuanian migration department sent Yuliya an official notification that she will be forcibly deported to Belarus, unless she agrees to go home voluntarily.

This cannot be allowed under any circumstances! Yuliya will end up in a Belarusian prison!

Yuliya wrote a letter to the Department of Migration that she refused to return to Belarus voluntarily, as it was dangerous for her in Belarus.

On June 12, 2024, during a personal visit, Yuliya attempted to submit documents to the Migration Department for a residence permit due to her inability to return home, but the documents were not accepted, verbally referring to the fact that Yuliya was in Lithuania illegally. Yulia’s passport was not returned. No written justification for the refusal to accept documents for residence permit was given to Yulia, no deportation decision was shown to her.

Later, Yuliya received a notification from the Migration Department that her residence permit documents were not accepted because she was in Lithuania illegally and deportation proceedings had been initiated. However, the deportation decision was not sent to Yuliya.

On the morning of June 20, 2024, Yuliya received a call from the Border Guard Service informing her that they had in their hands a decision to deport her. The Migration Department, in violation of Lithuanian law, without familiarising Yuliya with this decision, sent it directly to the Border Guard Service.

On the afternoon of June 20, 2024, Yuliya sent a second application for asylum due to newly discovered circumstances to the Migration Department’s email account. The Migration Department confirmed that they had received the application and invited Yuliya to come to them on June 25, 2024.

On the evening of June 20, 2024, Yuliya sent an official registered letter to the Department of Migration requesting that the decision on her deportation be sent to her for review.

On the morning of June 21, 2024, Yuliya received another call from the Border Guard Service, saying that they wanted to inform her about the deportation decision, but they did not find her at home and informed her that they could detain her when she came to apply for asylum on Tuesday June 25, 2024. As it turned out, the border guard came to the old address, where Yuliya no longer lives.

On July 23, 2024, a post appeared in the pro-government Telegram channel “Kniha GU ‘BAZA’,” featuring a screenshot of one of the posts from the Telegram channel “Our House,” a photo of Yuliya, and a quote: “Important update on Yuliya’s case. Blackmail, manipulation, and threats… or how the Department of Migration understands the word ‘cooperation’.” The channel “Kniha GU ‘BAZA'” then commented:

“Those who oppose Tikhanovskaya are being deported from Lithuania. This is because she criticized the self-proclaimed leader and worked with the competitors of the office-cabinet from the extremist formation ‘Our House.’ The Lithuanians do not care about the problems of a mother of many children, and she is simply being kicked out. Let us be clear that nothing terrible awaits her in Belarus. She will just have to answer to the law.”

This post indicates that the regime identifies Yuliya as an employee of an extremist formation and threatens “responsibility for this.” Yuliya faces a potential seven years in prison in Belarus for “aiding extremism.”

 

I Know What You Did This Summer

extra reading for those with strong nerves

On June 25, 2024, at 2:00 PM, Yuliya Prasanava, whose situation we recently reported↑ on, along with her younger daughter Sonya, who has autism spectrum disorder and cannot be left alone at home, went to the Lithuanian Migration Department to submit asylum documents.

Yuliya noticed that a decision to detain her and place her in a refugee camp was already on the desk of the migration office employee. The meeting started poorly. The staff refused to accept Yuliya’s asylum application. They were rude, nervous, raised their voices, ignored arguments, frequently left the room during the interview, repeatedly expelled Yuliya from the office, and yelled at the interpreter for allegedly translating unnecessary information.

Yuliya’s printed documents were scattered across the table, and she was forced to rewrite everything by hand. The Migration Office also refused to accept medical certificates regarding Sonya’s condition.

Yuliya included a request to live with her family during the review of her case instead of staying in a refugee camp, as she had an apartment. This request was denied, despite presenting a copy of the lease agreement in her husband’s name. The officials explained that Yuliya was not listed on the lease.

The apartment owner arrived within 20 minutes, agreeing to let Yuliya stay in the apartment. Despite attempts to dissuade him, he confirmed his consent. At the end of the interview, the interpreter handed Yuliya a new “asylum seeker certificate” and allowed her to leave, but a migration department specialist forbade her from doing so.

This was because border guards, dressed as civilian migration employees, were present to detain Yuliya and transport her to a refugee camp. Sonya, already anxious due to the number of adults, was frightened and cried.

Yuliya was also very nervous, fearing that if taken to the camp, she would not be released until a decision on her asylum was made. However, she had no choice but to go to the camp with her daughter, as her husband was working late and could not take Sonya.

The migration office staff were perplexed by this situation — Sonya is not an asylum seeker, but cannot be left alone. They threatened to call the police and child protection services to take Sonya. This entire ordeal occurred in front of Sonya, a nine-year-old, clearly violating the child’s rights.

The responsible officials understood this but tried to shift the responsibility for this harm onto Yuliya, suggesting she leave her daughter with someone and go to the camp voluntarily. Sonya and Yuliya were kept in a communal room where officials pressured Yuliya and tried to convince Sonya to stay without her mother, further frightening her.

Yuliya insisted on going to the camp with Sonya, stating she could not leave her autistic daughter alone. At 4:00 PM, the migration office staff ended their workday, leaving Yuliya in the corridor and border guards by the phone. One border guard remained posted at the glass exit door, perhaps fearing desperate measures from the Belarusians.

Phone calls led to the idea of taking Yuliya only for the night and returning her after court the next day. This turned out to be false, as lawyers and advocates later revealed there was no scheduled court hearing. No lawyer had been informed, casting doubt on the existence of any court proceedings.

Yuliya agreed to involve the police and child protection services. The border guards then reconvened and around 6:00 PM, decided to release Yuliya. In the confusion, Yuliya obtained the Migration Department’s decision on her deportation. It was revealed that a secret decision to deport Yuliya to Belarus had been made a week prior without her knowledge.

The interpreter summarized the document: “We must deport you to Belarus because you are illegally in Lithuania, but you may return legally later.” Following this event, Sonya had nightmares and couldn’t sleep, waking up frightened and crying.

Early on June 26, 2024, the Migration Department called Yuliya, asking her to come in person to review the decision to expedite her case (about a month) and allow her to stay with her family during this period. They claimed they couldn’t send this document by email.

Suspecting a provocation, Yuliya took her lawyer. At 1:00 PM, Yuliya, Sonya, and her lawyer collected the decision from the Migration Department. The documents indicated that her asylum application had not yet been decided and was still under review.

Yuliya plans to appeal the unlawful and secret decision to deport her to Belarus.

On June 27 and June 28, 2024, Yuliya and her daughter Sonia went to a doctor because after visiting the Department of Migration, the child started having panic attacks, nightmares, and anxiety attacks. A medical examination resulted in the following diagnoses:

• Acute reaction to stress (code F43.0), characterized by severe adaptation disorder with marked signs of shock and disorientation, occurring immediately after the injury.
• Hyperkinetic disorder unspecified (code F90.9).

The child was referred to a psychiatrist for counseling.

On June 28, 2024, Yuliya’s lawyer filed a complaint against the unlawful decision to deport her to Belarus.

On July 1, 2024, at 8 am, the Migration Department summoned Yuliya for an interview to determine whether to accept her asylum application based on newly discovered circumstances. During the interview, Yuliya was groundlessly accused of absconding and not cooperating with the migration service. Yuliya denied these accusations, stating that she did not hide from the Migration Department, attended all their appointments, and responded to all their letters.

Specialist Vitoldas offered Yuliya the option to call the head of the migration service to ask for permission to travel to a third country. However, in return, he demanded that she withdraw her complaint against the decision to deport her to Belarus. Otherwise, she was threatened with a refusal to accept her asylum documents based on newly discovered circumstances and a new decision on deportation with a ban on entry to Lithuania. Yuliya replied that she would be able to make a decision only after consulting her lawyer.

On the same day, Yuliya sent a letter to the Department of Migration, in which she refused to withdraw the complaint and requested that any dubious suggestions about her legalization options be sent to her lawyer.

On August 15, 2024, Yuliya received a call from the Department of Migration inviting her to review the decision regarding her asylum application.

On August 16, 2024, Yuliya went to the Department of Migration. Since she was unwell, she wore a mask. She had to wait for a translator, who never arrived. Due to her illness, nerves, and the mask, Yuliya found it difficult to breathe and felt unwell. She refused an ambulance call and requested to review the decision without a translator.

She received a new denial of asylum.

In its decision, the Department of Migration considered and evaluated new circumstances indicating that Yuliya faces persecution in Belarus. Among other factors, the decision analyzes a post from the pro-government Telegram channel “Kniha GU ‘BAZA.'” Here is a translation of the quote from the Department of Migration’s decision:

“It should be noted that the post shared by Yuliya Prasanava with the Migration Service is rather neutral towards her. The post criticizes the institutions of the Republic of Lithuania, thus supporting the position of the foreigner. Additionally, it does not provide specific information about her (aside from the photo and name; other personal data is not disclosed). Furthermore, the post mentions that Yuliya Prasanava does not support the activities of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s office (the actual representative of the Belarusian opposition) in general. The foreigner is not accused of her political beliefs or activities in organizations recognized as extremist; it is merely mentioned that Yuliya Prasanava will be required to answer to the law upon her return to her country of origin (where her adult children continue to live). As previously reported, the Migration Service does not rule out the possibility that the foreigner may attract the attention of law enforcement due to an unpaid fine; however, this does not confirm the risk of persecution on conventional grounds.”

These arguments ignore the direct indication from the pro-government media regarding Yuliya’s alleged cooperation with an “extremist formation” and the explicit threat of accountability for it. Photos and personal information about Yuliya have been repeatedly published on the website and social media of Our House, which is recognized as an extremist formation in Belarus.

Additionally, it is pointed out that Yuliya allegedly does not support Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, as if Tikhanovskaya were the only representative of the opposition. It should also be noted that Yuliya has never criticized Tikhanovskaya; on the contrary, she supported her during the 2020 elections and participated in the protests.

Yuliya filed an appeal in the first-instance court, with the hearing scheduled for October 28, 2024.

On September 11, 2024, there was a hearing regarding the appeal against the Migration Department’s decision on deportation. The ruling was expected to be announced on September 30, 2024.

On September 16, 2024, around noon, border service officers came to Yuliya’s home but did not find her there—no one answered the door. They then began calling Yuliya and the landlord to confirm her residence at that address.

On September 20, 2024, a migration officer attempted to contact Yuliya again; however, after not finding her at home, he called the landlord once more to verify her living situation.

On September 30, 2024, the court ruled to annul the Migration Department’s deportation decision against Yuliya and ordered the reimbursement of her attorney’s fees within 14 days. The Migration Department did not contest this ruling, and on October 15, 2024, the decision to annul the deportation came into force.

On September 16, 2024, Yuliya received a letter from the Migration Department inviting her for an interview without explaining the reasons.

On September 23, 2024, at 10:00, she arrived for the interview, which the interpreter referred to as an interrogation. The conversation lasted about two hours. During the discussion, Yuliya was persuaded that she needed to leave her children behind and leave Lithuania. She provided documents confirming her child’s illness and tried to explain that she could not abandon her daughter, as it would cause her immense stress. Furthermore, her daughter required special care, and her husband, who worked to support the family, could not adequately care for the children alone.

In response, Yuliya was told that she must leave with her child to Belarus. She was also accused of taking her child with her to the protest marches in 2020, putting her in danger. The specialists also asked why she had taken her daughter with her on June 25 when she applied for asylum based on new circumstances if she knew how the application process worked. Yuliya responded that she could not have imagined that visiting the Migration Department could be so dangerous and traumatic for her child. There was no one to leave her daughter with at home, as her husband was at work.

At the end of the conversation, Yuliya asked the specialist what would happen next. She was told that a decision regarding her status in Lithuania would be made. However, since she was in the country illegally and had already received two rejections for asylum, a new deportation decision would be issued. Yuliya was informed that she could appeal this decision, but it would not save her, and she would be deported to Belarus.

Yuliya requested to be notified of the decision, but the specialist explained that such a practice was not provided—decisions were immediately passed to the Border Service to prevent the person from hiding and avoiding deportation.

On October 28, 2024, the appeal against the Migration Department’s decision from August 15, 2024, was considered.

As of October 29, 2024, the Migration Department had not reimbursed Yuliya for her attorney’s fees as per the court’s ruling that came into effect on October 15, 2024, regarding the annulment of deportation and reimbursement of attorney fees. The Migration Department cited a lack of funds. Yuliya requested an official response from the Migration Department explaining the reasons.