Yakov and his mother need help covering housing, food, and basic living expenses after he was taken to Lithuania with a group of political prisoners and his mother was forced to leave Belarus out of fear of arrest.
After serving five and a half years in a correctional facility under the “Brest case,” Yakov was taken from Belarus to Lithuania together with a group of political prisoners on September 11, 2025.
But pressure from the law enforcers also affected his mother, Tatyana Stepanovna.
“At the Lithuanian side of the border, they told us: ‘You are free.’ But I found myself free without any belongings, without documents, and without any understanding of what to do next,” Yakov recalls.
In Vilnius, he received basic support, but it was impossible to begin a normal life right away: Yakov had no work permit, was still going through the legalization process, and was effectively living on the assistance he received after his release.
Meanwhile, in Belarus, law enforcers began visiting his mother. According to Yakov, they asked questions about her son, checked her phone, asked whether she remained in contact with him, and spoke about the possibility of a new criminal case being opened against him.
“Every time they came to my mother and said that a criminal case could be opened against me, they ended with the same message: if I returned, cooperated with them, or signed a confession, then maybe I wouldn’t be imprisoned,” recalls the former political prisoner.
Later, Tatyana Stepanovna was summoned for a “friendly chat” at the district police department. Then she received a call informing her that officials planned to come to her home for an inspection and questioning.
“We lived in Belarus for many years. Nobody simply questions people in their homes for no reason. A decision was made: my mother packed a backpack and urgently came to Lithuania to join me,” says Yakov.
The woman left behind her home, her job, and her familiar life in Belarus.
Today, Yakov and Tatyana Stepanovna live together in a one-room apartment in Vilnius. She has obtained a national visa, and Yakov has applied for a humanitarian residence permit.
“We sleep in the same room — I’m on the sofa, and my mother sleeps on a mattress. Before she arrived, I somehow managed, but now there are two of us,” says Yakov.
The former political prisoner only recently received permission to work and is now looking for stable employment. But the family needs support to get through the first months after his mother’s forced departure: paying rent, buying food, and covering basic living expenses for two people.
The fundraiser is intended to cover only the essentials: housing, food, and everyday expenses until Yakov can earn a stable income and his mother can complete her paperwork and adapt to life in Lithuania.
We ask you to support Yakov and Tatyana Stepanovna through this difficult period so they can get back on their feet and begin rebuilding their lives in exile.
Fundraising goal
€2800
€1800 – rent for several months
€1000 – living expenses after relocation