The chairman of the Belarusian Green Party was sentenced to six years in a correctional facility. He was forcibly taken to Lithuania, but due to lengthy paperwork procedures, Dzmitry was left without any money. He is asking for help covering rent and food expenses.
My name is Dzmitry Kuchuk, and I am the chairman of the Belarusian Green Party. I was sentenced to six years for my political activities and participation in the 2020 marches. In September 2025, I was released as part of a prisoner exchange in a deal brokered by US envoy John Coale and taken directly from the correctional facility in Horki. That is how I ended up in Vilnius.
I received a lot of help during the first few months, and I am grateful for it. But out of our entire group, I was the last to receive my documents: the legalisation process took seven and a half months. During all that time, I was unable to work properly. All the assistance went towards the bare necessities: housing, food, and paperwork. After prison, a person has no reserves left to fall back on. You don’t return to a normal life; you find yourself in a new country where you have to put everything back together from scratch.
As soon as I had the opportunity, I registered a company in Lithuania and started transporting household appliances. I worked in environmental protection for many years, and now I am doing what I know and understand, just under new circumstances. I got to know the local market and people in the industry, learned how to find orders, and have already started earning money.
I managed to cover everything myself over the summer, although my income was still insufficient and life in Lithuania is expensive. Now my resources have run out, and since October 1, I have been forced to live in a shelter because I can no longer afford to pay rent.
I understand what I need to do to become financially self-sufficient, and I just need to get through a few more months. But it is difficult to look for clients, travel to jobs, and negotiate work when you don’t know where you will sleep a week from now.
I am asking you to help me raise money for rent and food. This support will help me avoid falling apart at this very moment, when an opportunity has finally appeared, and allow me to keep working until I can support myself.
Fundraising goal
€2800
€1800 – rent for 3–4 months
€1000 – food