Zmitser Dashkevich; born July 20, 1981 in Yelsk Raion, Homiel Voblast

Homiel Voblast

Homiel Voblast or Gomel Oblast is a province of Belarus with its administrative center being Homyel.Important cities within the voblasts include: Gomel, Mazyr, Zhlobin, Svetlahorsk, Rechytsia, Kalinkavichy, Rahachow, Dobrush...

) is a Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

ian politician and one of the leaders of the unregistered youth opposition movement Malady Front

Malady Front

Young Front is a Belarusian youth movement and the largest democratic youth organisation of Belarus.-History:...

.

Membership in unregistered organizations was considered a crime by new laws of the country and Zmister was sentenced for several years in Belarusian prison. The Amnesty international

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 declared him a prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience

Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...

. Upon his release in 2008 he continues his political activity in Belarus.