Andrei Ostapovich is a former Belarusian police investigator who publicly resigned during the 2020 Belarusian protests, following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, in response to police violence that he called "criminal".
12 Facts About Andrei Ostapovich
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Andrei Ostapovich arrived in Poland on 3 September 2020 and sought political asylum.
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Andrei Ostapovich graduated from a five-year study program in law and forensics at the Ministry of the Interior Academy of the Republic of Belarus.
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Andrei Ostapovich was an official of the Investigative Committee of Belarus.
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Andrei Ostapovich described the job as "exciting" when "suspects proved elusive".
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Andrei Ostapovich stated that there was little political interference in his work.
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Andrei Ostapovich posted a photograph of his resignation letter on Instagram.
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Andrei Ostapovich was blindfolded, put into a van and handcuffed to a kettlebell.
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Several hours later, Andrei Ostapovich was released without a blindfold in an area that the masked men said was on the border with Vitebsk Region in Belarus and informed that he was banned from entering Russia for five years.
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Andrei Ostapovich threw away three mobile phones to avoid being located.
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Andrei Ostapovich spent five days near the same location, surviving on chocolate bars and avoiding Belarusian police searching for him.
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On February 15,2024, Andrei Ostapovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison in absentia.