Dzianis Urad

Dzianis Urad (, also known as Denis Urad; born 23 June 1991) is a former special liaison officer of the Belarusian Armed Forces’ General Staff and a political prisoner.

Biography Urad was born on 23 June 1991 in Rasony, Viciebsk Region of Belarus.

He graduated from the Belarusian Military Academy at the Faculty of Communications and Automated Control Systems in 2014.

Urad is married and has a child.

Political activism and 18 years’ sentence During the 2020-21 Belarusian Protests Urad sent to opposition media a copy of a letter in which Belarus’ Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakou demanded the defence minister involve the army in suppressing protests.

On 14 May 2021 the supreme court of Belarus sentenced Urad to 18 years in prison for treason. "Urad's action ... has caused significant harm to national interests," state prosecutor Mikhail Kavaliou declared.

Jens Geier, member of the European Parliament, has taken over the godparenthood of Dzianis Urad as part of Libereco’s #WeStandBYyou solidarity campaign.