Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk

Palina Siarhieuna Sharenda-Panasiuk (; born 21 March 1975) is a Belarusian human rights activist. A noted pro-democracy activist in Brest, she is a frequent critic of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. In 2021, she was sentenced to two years' imprisonment on charges of insulting state officials and using violence against a police officer. Sharenda-Panaisuk alleged she was tortured in prison, and her sentence was extended on two occasions until she was released in 2025.

Early life and education Sharenda-Panasiuk studied history at A. S. Pushkin Brest State University. She went on to work as a Belarusian language teacher until the school she worked in was closed by Lukashenko in the 1990s. Followjng this, she moved to Poland where she studied political science at the University of Warsaw. Sharenda-Panasiuk remained in Poland for a period, teaching Polish and history and also spending a time working at the Institute of National Remembrance.

Sharenda-Panasiuk married Andrei Sharenda in 2009, with whom she had two children.

Sharenda-Panasiuk is a frequent critic of Alexander Lukashenko. In 2006, she publicly supported Alaksandar Milinkievič, the main opposition candidate in the 2006 presidential election, and participated in pro-Milinkievič and pro-democracy marches in Minsk. During the 2010 presidential election, she worked on the campaign of opposition candidate Andrei Sannikov.

In 2019, Sharenda-Panasiuk stood as a candidate for the European Belarus campaign in that year's parliamentary election. She was subsequently removed from the official list of candidates following a television appearance in which she called Lukashenko a "dictator".

Arrest, trial and imprisonment Previously in 2017 and 2020, Sharenda-Panasiuk's husband Andrei had been arrested and detained for taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations. In January 2021, Andrei was arrested; following this, Sharenda-Panasiuk posted a video on Telegram in which she described the police officers who arrested her husband as "fascists and punishers". Subsequently, police officers conducted an inspection of her home, during which Sharenda-Panasiuk was arrested. She was charged with "insulting state officials" and "using violence against a police officer" after it was alleged that she had scratched a police officer on the arm during the inspection.

While Sharenda-Panasiuk was in detention, Andrei was placed under home arrest again in May 2021 on charges of "contempt of the President" and "calls for action aiming to hamr the national securit of Belarus". He was able to flee the country with their children, settling in Lithuania.

On 9 June 2021, the Maskowski District Court sentenced Sharenda-Panasiuk to 24 months' imprisonment. Sharenda-Panasiuk had been denied legal representation during the trial and had refused to give evidence, stating she would only testify at a future international tribunal for Lukashenko's crimes; she described the court as "Stalin's troika" and stated she would not accept its verdict.

In custody, it was alleged that Sharenda-Panasiuk had been subject to torture and mistreatment, including being repeatedly placed in punishment cells; having letters and medications withheld from her; not being provided with a mattress or bedding; and being denied hot water and hearing. Sharenda-Panasiuk also reported that she had been assaulted by other prisoners on the orders of prison administrators.

In January 2024, Sharenda-Panasiuk's husband Andrei registered a complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, accusing Belarusian authorities of discrimination against his wife. In March, CEDAW requested that Belarus take interim measures to protect Sharenda-Panasiuk, citing concerns about her declining health in prison. Later that year, she received the Stories of Injustice Award from the Czech Republic alongside Nikita Emelyanov and Ksenia Syramalot.

In 2023, Sharenda-Panasiuk was awarded the Medal of the Order of Pursuit from the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.