Fifty-five-year-old former political prisoner and activist from Homiel Aliaksei Ramanau has been added to Russia’s Interior Ministry wanted database. The stated basis is a “criminal case,” but the card does not name a specific Criminal Code article. Ramanau told the human rights centre Viasna the details of his cross-border persecution — how dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s regime reaches people abroad through its alliance with Moscow.

From colony to exile

Ramanau is a Homiel activist and a participant in Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s campaign. He has a disability linked to oncological illness. In December 2020 a Khoiniki district court sentenced him to one year in a colony under Article 368 — “insulting the president.” The trial was closed; Homiel Viasna reported that he was recognised as a political prisoner. He served the term at Colony No. 13 in Hlybokaje and was released in November 2021.

Freedom did not bring a “normal” life: as he told Zerkalo, state employers refused former political prisoners. Then came searches, short jail terms for subscriptions, KGB questioning about an “extremist formation” (Nasha Niva covered the January 2024 detention), and summonses to the Investigative Committee over food parcels. In 2024 Aliaksei left Belarus, fearing a new criminal case.

A new case — for an interview

In spring 2026 Mediazona Belarus, citing Viasna, reported a new criminal case against Ramanau. The trigger was a 2024 interview with Belsat. Relatives already faced a search — the regime’s usual move: pressure the family while the person is in exile.

Wanted in Russia — without an article number

Now Ramanau’s name also appears in Russia’s MVD wanted database. The card speaks of a “criminal case” but lists no specific article. For Belarusians abroad that is a signal: the Minsk–Moscow alliance turns domestic repression into a cross-border hunt. Being wanted in Russia on a Belarusian request means risk of detention in “friendly” jurisdictions and the threat of extradition.

In his talk with Viasna, Aliaksei describes what such persecution looks like from inside: not only a sentence at home, but an attempt to make a person a “permanent fugitive” — without a clear charge on the card, yet with a wanted tag in a neighbouring dictatorship.

Why it matters

Ramanau’s case is not unique. Thousands of Belarusians already appear on Russia’s wanted lists: journalists, activists, former political prisoners. Lukashenka’s regime exports fear. While the card lacks even an article number, one thing is clear: the goal is not justice, but isolation and intimidation of those who have already paid with freedom and health.