Photo: Politzek.me
For displaying two flags in 2022 — the white-red-white flag and the Ukrainian flag — Kateryna Zaretskaya was sentenced to 5 years in a correctional facility. After being deported first to Ukraine and then to Poland, Katya faced the consequences of the hard labour she endured in the correctional facility — hernias and a spinal disc protrusion. She needs help paying for a rehabilitation course to preserve her health and ability to work.
September 2022. In Minsk, two flags appear on the facade of a high-rise building — the national white-red-white flag and the flag of Ukraine. For law enforcers, this becomes a signal for brutal repression. Kateryna Zaretskaya is detained together with her husband.
What began as an accusation of “hooliganism” was quickly turned by the regime into a much more serious charge: activists’ communication in the Zello app was declared an “extremist entity.” The result was a harsh sentence: 5 years in a correctional facility under the general regime.
Kateryna went through the entire nightmare of the Belarusian prison system: Zhodzina, Remand Centre No. 1 on Volodarsky Street, closed court hearings, and women’s Correctional Facility No. 4. In October 2023, her name was added to the “extremist” list. Behind these dry lines in human rights reports are months of isolation, separation from loved ones, pressure, and a daily struggle to preserve her dignity.
In December 2025, Kateryna was released along with other political prisoners and immediately deported to Ukraine. She later ended up in Poland, where she is trying to adapt both to life in freedom and to life in a new foreign country.
Katya spent 1,197 days in detention, which came at a high cost not only psychologically. Once she was free, it became clear that years of hard labour in the correctional facility had taken a serious toll on her health — she developed hernias and a spinal disc protrusion. Doctors prohibited her from doing physically demanding work, which she had relied on for income (pet sitting and cleaning), meaning that even her modest income is now at risk. At the same time, the medical assistance programme for former political prisoners does not cover the full cost of the treatment she needs — Katya requires an expensive rehabilitation course. This course is her hope of staying on her feet and avoiding spinal surgery.
When she recovers, Katya dreams of becoming financially independent and getting a dog.
Please support Kateryna on her journey back to a healthy and free life.
Fundraising goal
€3000
€1800 – rehabilitation course for hernias and spinal disc protrusion (the part not covered by the medical assistance programme)
€700 – rent during treatment and recovery while Katya is unable to do physical work
€500 – basic needs during the period when her ability to work is limited due to her health