Denis served four years in a correctional facility. Now the athlete is awaiting a decision on his application for international protection in Poland and is still unable to work officially. He needs help with housing and food until he receives his status.
My name is Denis Marusevich. I am from Brest, and I have been involved in sports since childhood: I started with acrobatics, then took up karate and hand-to-hand combat, competed for the national team, and won the CIS Championship in 2019.
Before 2020, I had never been involved in politics. But on August 10, I went to the centre of Brest together with thousands of other people because I did not agree with the election results. A month later, I was detained and sentenced to four years in a correctional facility for “mass riots.”
Even in the correctional facility, I did not give up sports: I took part in a boxing tournament among inmates and became its champion.
BYSOL note: According to Denis’s mother, whose account was published in January 2022 by the Brest Viasna human rights organisation, the tournament consisted of five stages, and Denis won every one of them. His victories earned him permission to make video calls to his family. Before the final, posters of the finalists were hung in the corridors of the correctional facility, and other inmates cheered him on. He won the final and received the champion’s belt.
In the spring of 2024, I was released and tried to live at home. I started holding outdoor boxing training sessions and bringing people together. But I was summoned for questioning again and reports were drawn up against me: it turned out that even gathering in groups of more than two people was prohibited, even for a training session. Given my past, this could have resulted in another prison sentence, so I left the country.
I am now in Poland and have applied for international protection. Until a decision is made, I cannot work officially, but I need to pay for housing and buy food right now. I have not given up sports: recently, I competed for the Belarusian club Volat, I am preparing for new tournaments, and I am looking for ways to earn a living using my experience. But until my documents are sorted out, sport does not provide even a minimal income.
I am not going to give up. But right now, I need help with the bare necessities – housing and food while I wait for a decision on my documents.
Fundraising goal
€2200
€1500 — rent and utility bills for 3 months
€700 — basic everyday expenses