Ksenia Syramalot

Ksenia Syramalot
Ксенія Сырамалот
Born (1999-12-19) December 19, 1999
Alma materState University of Belarus
OccupationsStudent leader
Human rights activist
Years active2020–present
EmployerBelarusian Students' Association
Criminal chargesViolating public order
Criminal penaltyTwo and a half years imprisonment
Criminal statusReleased

Ksenia Syramalot (Belarusian: Ксенія Сырамалот; born 19 December 1999) is a Belarusian human rights activist. While a student at the Belarusian State University, she served as the press secretary of the Belarusian Students' Association, as well as volunteering for the human rights organisation Viasna. Syramalot was arrested during the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests and was subsequently recognised as a political prisoner.

Biography

Syramalot studied at the Lyceum of the Belarusian State University.[1] She wrote various poems and short stories as a teenager that were published in the monthly cultural magazine Maladosts.[2][3]

Syramalot went on to study philosophy and social sciences at the Belarusian State University, where she became involved with the Belarusian Students' Association and the human rights group Viasna.[4] In 2020, she took part in public protests against the Belarusian government and the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, in the lead up to as well as during the 2020 presidential election. On 12 November 2020, Syramalot was arrested at her home, one of twelve academics arrested and charged under article 342 of the Belarusian criminal code, which criminalised the organisation of and participation in group actions that "grossly violate public order". Syramalot was placed in pre-trial detention at Amerikanka, a prison in Minsk run by the State Security Committee. On 23 November, she was transferred to Pishchalauski Castle.[5]

On 18 November 2020, a joint statement issued by 15 Belarusian human rights organisations, including Viasna, the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and Belarusian PEN, recognising Syramalot as a political prisoner.[6] On 20 January 2021, a joint statement by 14 Ukrainian human rights groups, including the Association of Ukrainian Monitors on Human Rights Conduct in Law Enforcement, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and Skhid SOS, described Syramalot's ongoing detention as illegal and an enforced disappearance.[7][8] Thomas Waitz, a member of the European Parliament for Austria and President of the European Green Party symbolically adopted Syramalot, commending her and others for their "courage and bravery... [and] endurance and fortitude".[9][10]

On 16 July 2021, the Savetski District Court in Minsk sentenced Syramalot to two and a half years in prison. Syramalot had pleaded not guilty. She served her sentence at women's penal colony no. 4 in Gomel alongside other student activists including Alana Gebremariam and Yana Arabeika.[11][12][13] Syramalot was released from prison on 30 November 2022.[4]

Recognition

In November 2021, Syramalot received the Stories of Injustice Award from the Czech Republic, alongside Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk and Nikita Emelyanov.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Мастачкі, валанцёры, гулец "Што? Дзе? Калі?": каго судзяць па "Справе студэнтаў"". Euroradio (in Belarusian). 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  2. ^ Melnikov, Martin (23 November 2020). "Ксюша Сырамалот: Гатовая ісці да сваёй мэты праз розныя перашкоды". Novy Chas (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 14 October 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Агляд літаратурных часопісаў". Zvyazda (in Belarusian). 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Ksenia Syramalot". Viasna. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  5. ^ "КСЕНІЯ СЫРАМАЛОТ". Belarusian Students' Association (in Belarusian). Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Заявление протеста против наступления на "Задзіночанне Беларускіх Студэнтаў"". Belarusian Helsinki Committee (in Belarusian). 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Заява правозахисних організацій щодо незаконно утримуваних білоруських студентів". UMDPL (in Ukrainian). 20 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  8. ^ Horobets, Khrystyna (20 January 2021). "Правозахисники України закликають міжнародну спільноту захистити незаконно утримуване в Білорусі студентство". Novinarnia (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  9. ^ "SYRAMALOT Ksenia | СЫРОМОЛОТ Ксения". Belarus Women's Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 December 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Katarina Barley and Thomas Waitz take over godparenthood for the students Alana Gebremariam and Ksenia Syramalot". Libereco. 20 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  11. ^ Nevedomskaya, Tatyana (16 July 2021). "Родные обвиняемых по "делу студентов": Приговор не удивляет". DW (in Russian). Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Student case, Belarus". Scholars at Risk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Student case, Belarus". Scholars at Risk. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Мастачкі, валанцёры, гулец "Што? Дзе? Калі?": каго судзяць па "Справе студэнтаў"". Euroradio (in Belarusian). 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
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