An IT Specialist From Israel Spent Three Days In a Belarusian Temporary Detention Center Over Subscriptions
Reform.news Editorial Team · 27 September 2026, 17:14
https://reform.news/en/an-it-specialist-from-israel-spent-three-days-in-a-belarusian-temporary-detention-center-over-subscriptions/IT specialist and entrepreneur Mihael Katz, who has lived in Israel for the past seven years, was detained at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in September. He shared the story of his latest trip to his home country on Threads.
According to Katz, he was crossing the border with his wife and two children. Their mobile phones were checked, and officers found that the man was subscribed to two YouTube channels that Belarusian authorities had designated as “extremist materials.” His wife was subscribed to one more such channel.
After the check, Katz was detained. He spent three days in a temporary detention center, after which a court fined him. The mobile phones were also confiscated.
“I have been living in the State of Israel for seven years now. From time to time I come to Belarus. Every time before that, I look through my phone, check for any subscriptions, any channels, clean everything up, remove everything just in case, because you never know. And this time I also thought everything would go well. But things did not go according to plan. We were traveling with my wife and two children, crossing the Belarusian-Lithuanian border, and were detained for a check of our mobile devices.
I handed over my phone. Naturally, it is impossible not to hand it over. And where do you think they found the problem? Not in Telegram, not in Facebook, not in Instagram, but on YouTube. I was subscribed to two channels, my wife to one. Unwanted channels that were recognized by the Justice Ministry as “extremist.” Handcuffs, three days in a temporary detention center, court, a fine, confiscation of the phones — all of that is over. But I did not spend the time I was there in vain. Thinking, as they say. I had time to think”, Katz said.
After his detention, Katz created a service, bycheck.org, to check subscriptions and the contents of devices for resources that Belarusian authorities have designated as “extremist.”
“I realized that people like me can end up in this situation — people who have fallen out of the domestic Belarusian political agenda. By the way, this is not a political project. I believe that politics should generally be dealt with by people who live in the country, not those who have left. Those who have left should engage in politics in the countries they moved to. And, generally speaking, I thought that people like me need such a service — to check their phones, their devices, their social networks and messengers for, so to speak, “unreliable elements.”
There is a website, bycheck.org, in the profile bio. Go to it and check your device, your social networks and your messengers. It is absolutely free. There is an option to buy me a cup of coffee if it helps you. And it really will help you. Because what shocked me completely was that channels and all groups are added to the Justice Ministry’s website every day, friends. From two to more than 10 channels are added every day, that is, on average, five or six.
That means you do not even realize what is on your phone or who you used to be subscribed to. You no longer follow them, but believe me, they will find everything. They will find everything, and you will have to spend some time in detention for it. So if you do not want to hand over your phone, if you do not want to get up at 6 a.m. to the national anthem and spend this time completely pointlessly — well, perhaps it will have a purpose, I do not know — be sure to check your phone. It is free, enjoy it, cross the border calmly, spend time with friends, enjoy nature and the cuisine. Everything we love”, he said.
It is worth recalling that Belarusian authorities regularly use accusations of extremism in their campaign against political opponents and dissent more broadly.