Natallia Hersche

Natallia Hersche (also Natalie Hersche; ; ; born 20 October 1969, Orsha, Belarusian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Belarusian-born political prisoner. She has Belarusian and Swiss citizenships.

Detention Hersche visited Belarus every year. During this march, the riot police used force to disperse women and detained a group of them. Riot police officer Siarhei Konchyk tried to put Hersche into the police bus, but she grabbed his mask instead. Her actions led to a criminal case under article 363 of Belarusian Criminal Code — "resistance to a police officer".

Konchyk claimed that he experienced physical and mental suffering and estimated his suffering at 500 BYN (then — at 1000 BYN). As she was arrested during the march, she was not able to return to Switzerland. On 3 December 2020, her trial in Saviecki District Court of Minsk started, and on 7 December Judge Siarhei Shatsila sentenced her to 2.5 years of prison. Swiss parliamentarians and the Libereco human rights organisation started a campaign for her release.

Originally, Hersche was put in a correctional colony for women in Homiel. This colony sews clothes for the police and army, and Hersche refused to do that. It was noted that Belarus has no prisons for women, and transfer of women to prisons is rare.

The authorities attempted to compel her to ask Aleksandr Lukashenko for pardon, but Hersche refused, claiming she was innocent.

On 18 February 2022, she was suddenly released ahead of schedule. She lost 6 kg of weight and one third of hair. She associated her release with the arrival of Swiss ambassador to Minsk.