Former Belarusian political prisoner is being tried in Lithuania for preparing to murder a Russian opposition leader. Faces up to life imprisonment

Just five years ago, human rights activists saved Belarusian punk musician Vadim Duboyski from extradition from Russia. He wrote from the Belgorod pre-trial detention center that after returning to Belarus, he could be killed or maimed. The European Court of Human Rights stopped the extradition, Duboyski was released and eventually reached Lithuania. There he received political asylum and a permanent residence permit.

Now the 36-year-old Belarusian is behind bars again - this time in Lithuania. His name appears as a member of an organized terrorist group that, according to the investigation, was preparing to assassinate two people: Lithuanian public activist Valdas Bartkevičius and Russian opposition leader Ruslan Gabbasov, one of the leaders of the Bashkir national movement.

Investigators do not disclose what actions each of the six accused is charged with. The trial will be held behind closed doors. The first hearing is scheduled for October 9.

Among Duboyski's acquaintances, the news caused shock. Natalia Kalegova, head of the "Dapamoha" organization and the Belarusian "Zamok" for refugees, with whom he lived for some time after arriving in Lithuania, says she knew Vadim as a creative, seemingly harmless, but impulsive and emotionally unstable person. She does not believe that he could have knowingly joined a conspiracy for a political assassination.

"If they told me he got involved in something because of marijuana, I might believe it. But for him to consciously build some scheme and prepare a terrorist attack - no," says Natalia Kalegova.

Arrest in Brest and Escape to Russia

Павялічыць

Vadim Duboyski is a musician, guitarist for the Brest hardcore punk band Vagitta. In August 2020, he was detained after protests in Brest.

Duboyski was beaten at the police station and released a day later without formal charges. Due to the stress he experienced, he was hospitalized. After the man documented the beatings, a criminal case was opened against him under the article on mass riots. In September, he was detained again while on his way to see a doctor.

In October 2020, Duboyski fled to Russia. But it did not become safe for him. On April 12, 2021, the Belarusian was detained near the Ukrainian border when he tried to cross it outside a checkpoint to seek asylum. The Belarusian was placed in a pre-trial detention center in Belgorod. Minsk demanded extradition.

In one of his letters from the detention center, Duboyski wrote:

"What frightens me most is that they will still come for me and put me in a Belarusian prison. There, if they don't kill me, they will definitely maim me."

Vadim's sister said that after his arrest in August 2020, he was beaten and "psychologically broken." Human rights activists, the Moscow Helsinki Group, and the international organization Freemuse, which protects creative freedom, spoke in his defense. The Russian "Memorial" recognized Duboyski as a political prisoner.

Павялічыць

In September 2021, a Russian court decided to extradite him to Belarus. The extradition had already begun when it turned out that the lawyer had filed an appeal, which the pre-trial detention center allegedly did not know about. The procedure was managed to be stopped.

Later, the appeals court upheld the extradition decision, but a day before the hearing, the European Court of Human Rights prohibited Russia from sending Duboyski to Belarus. He was released, and in 2022, he left Russia.

"They treated him like a confused teenager"

Vadim Duboyski arrived in Lithuania with a girl he met during his escape. According to Natalia, they became close on the road. Initially, the couple ended up in a refugee camp. From there, they sought help from "Zamok."

"I was not involved in their evacuation and met them already in Lithuania. Vadim was verified by human rights activists from 'Brest Spring.' We picked them up from the camp, and they lived with us for a month as a couple. Afterwards, they said they had money for an apartment and moved out," says Natalia Kalegova.

After some time, the couple's relationship deteriorated. During one argument, the girl was about to leave, and Duboyski grabbed her jacket, not wanting to let her go. She contacted the police, after which the man received a suspended sentence and was forbidden to approach her.

As a result, Vadim Duboyski ended up on the street and came back to "Zamok." Natalia Kalegova says that at that time, his psychological state worsened, he developed depression, and even worked with a psychologist.

"He would hold it together, then break down. He was unbalanced, could react very sharply to things, lose his temper. But I never saw him attack someone or lay a hand on anyone. He was temperamental, but I didn't consider him aggressive. We treated him like a confused teenager. He might argue, leave, then reappear. But he's a good boy. As far as I know, he didn't borrow money from our people at 'Zamok' and didn't deceive anyone," says Natalia.

At "Zamok," Duboyski painted one of the rooms and made graffiti on the wall saying "Long Live Belarus!" Soon he moved to an apartment. From time to time, he visited "Zamok," asking for help when problems arose.

Once he informed Natalia that he had been in the police: scales were found in the apartment where he lived, and there was suspicion that Duboyski might be involved in selling marijuana. Vadim himself said that the scales were not his. Natalia does not know how this story ended.

He looked for work as a driver and took on odd jobs

Duboyski did not have stable employment. He earned a living through odd jobs. In an archived resume on the Lithuanian website Flagma, he called himself an international driver: he claimed that from 2016 to 2019, he transported goods across Europe, and had a secondary specialized education as a veterinary paramedic. In May 2025, he was looking for a driver's job in Vilnius with a salary of one thousand euros or more.

The last message from him, according to Natalia Kalegova, came in June 2025. Duboyski noticed a suspicious advertisement in one of the "Dapamoha" chats, where people were promised a salary of $120 per day and "free training," and asked her to block the message due to obvious fraud. And then he simply disappeared.

When Vadim Duboyski stopped communicating, his acquaintances initially didn't understand what had happened. They assumed he might have received an administrative arrest due to drugs or ended up in the police for some other reason. Only later did it turn out that Duboyski was in custody in the Kaunas pre-trial detention center.

"When we found out what case he was involved in, everyone was in shock," says Natalia.

She contacted Vadim's mother. According to Natalia, the woman refused to come to Lithuania and said: "If he's guilty, let him serve his time."

"Only the lawyer or his mother had the right to receive official information about him. But his mother did not want to participate. Whether she writes to him now, I don't know," says Natalia Kalegova.

Павялічыць

The case started with a tracking device under a car

The investigation into the current case began in early 2025. Ruslan Gabbasov, an activist of the Bashkir independence movement living in Lithuania, found a tracking device in his car and reported it to the police.

Law enforcement concluded that the man's life was in real danger. The investigation identified potential perpetrators of the assassination attempt and their accomplices, and also revealed that the assassination of another person was being prepared - Lithuanian citizen Valdas Bartkevičius, an organizer of aid to Ukraine.

According to the prosecutor's office, from the summer of 2024, the group members collected information about future victims, including using technical means.

The main suspects were detained in Vilnius in spring 2025 with the participation of the anti-terrorist unit Aras.

The cases of six people have been forwarded to court: Bogdan Aseev, Vadim Duboyski, Andrey Lyapin, Ikhtiandr Karybov, Artur Vartanyan, and Vikenty Khapozov. These are citizens of Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Greece.

They were charged with a number of offenses: preparation of a terrorist act, participation in an organized terrorist group, recruitment and financing of terrorist activities, actions against Lithuania, illegal collection of private life data, illegal possession of software and passwords, as well as drugs without intent to sell. Four of the accused are under arrest, and two others wear electronic bracelets.

Murder with terrorist intent can carry a penalty of life imprisonment.

"I think he got involved in something for money"

According to Kalegova, Vadim Duboyski might have agreed to some casual paid work without understanding the whole scheme:

"I think he got involved in something for money or through deception. Perhaps he was used, perhaps he owed someone money. He had a mess in his head, he took on all sorts of odd jobs. But I don't believe that he had a conscious desire to commit terror against Valdas or anyone else. I hope the investigation will clarify everything."

Natalia Kalegova explains her doubts with another recent story. In August 2026, funeral wreaths appeared near the office of the Vilnius company RSI Europe, which produces unmanned systems and supplies FPV drones to Ukraine. A portrait of the company's head, Tomas Milašauskas, with a black ribbon was left nearby. Almost simultaneously, a similar action took place near the office of the Czech defense company CSG.

Lithuanian authorities consider the incident a possible provocation linked to Russian special services. A Ukrainian citizen was detained in Vilnius, who, according to Lithuanian media sources, might have been hired by a Belarusian.

Natalia says that the Belarusian involved in this story is also a former Belarusian political prisoner. According to her account, he found an advertisement for odd jobs and hired another person to deliver the wreaths to the office. Natalia helped him find a lawyer. The man has now been released pending trial and placed under the responsibility of "Dapamoha."

"We've had many such stories. A person finds an advertisement, gets a job as a courier, sometimes even thinks they are working officially, and then they are detained with some cards or other illegal items," says Natalia Kalegova.

She admits that Vadim Duboyski could have fallen into a similar scheme.

While Lithuania investigated the case of a possible terrorist act, Belarusian authorities continued to persecute Vadim Duboyski for the events of 2020. In August 2026, the Investigative Committee of Belarus initiated special in absentia proceedings against him on charges of participating in mass riots.

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