Viktar Babaryka

Viktar Dzmitryevich Babaryka (Belarusian: Віктар Дзмітрыевіч Бабарыка or Viktor Dmitryevich Babariko; born 9 November 1963) is a Belarusian banker, philanthropist, public and opposition political figure who intended to become a candidate in the 2020 Belarusian presidential election. Although official polls were heavily censored by the government of incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko, who was running for re-election, independent polls established Babaryka as the early favorite for the 2020 president election. In June of that year, Babaryka was detained by the Belarusian government over charges of "illegal [financial] activities", leading his candidacy to be rejected the next month and to a 14 years-prison sentence for bribery and tax evasion in January 2021; the charges are considered to be politically motivated, and he is perceived as a political prisoner. Many collaborators of Babaryka were also detained or sentenced around the same time, including his son Eduard who serves an 8-year prison sentence since July 2023; some fled the country to avoid repercussions. In April 2023, Babaryka was severely injured, allegedly by prison security, and disappeared four days later; although Belarus officials claim that Babaryka is "alive and healthy", this has been characterised as an enforced disappearance from the Belarusian government. In December 2025, he was released from prison by the Belarusian regime and de facto deported from Belarus.