A new criminal case was opened against former political prisoner Viktoryia Kulsha, who was “pardoned” on December 13, 2025, shortly before her release. The case was initiated under the rarely used article on “actions disrupting the work of a correctional institution executing a sentence of imprisonment” (Article 410 of the Criminal Code), the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.
In February 2021, Kulsha was sentenced to 2.5 years in a penal colony under the article on participation in actions grossly violating public order in the case of the “Drivers 97% Minsk” chat. Her sentence was extended four times under the article on disobedience to colony administration (Article 411 of the Criminal Code), each time adding one year. Kulsha was due to be released on January 23, 2026. On December 5, she was informed of the new criminal case on disrupting the work of the colony.
Kulsha was serving her sentence in Penal Colony No. 4 in Homyel and later in Penal Colony No. 24 in Zarechye. In November 2025, she sustained a serious injury in the colony and was taken to a hospital in Homyel. After hospitalization, she was transferred to the medical unit of the Homyel colony, and on December 13 she was released and taken to Ukraine along with other political prisoners. Kulsha was not given back her passport and received only a certificate confirming her identity.
