In 2013, Tatiana Mary And Anastasia Khameyancova Opened the door AmajoroA startup center in Minsk, Belarus, which will launch stories of Eastern Europe’s most prominent tech success. A decade later, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison by Belarus authorities in ‘absence’. Their property has been seized. His work was described as “extremist”. Marych’s passport has expired and has been canceled, leaving it trapped in Spain and left unconscious.
Their crime? An independent, business supporter construction, the Lukashenko government, considered dangerous for business capabilities in a country that is generally dominated by government industries.
“What began as an attempt to silence innovation has changed into a complete criminal form of free business,” Maryamch told Tech Crunch.
Amajoro was not just Belarus’s first startup center. It became the gravity center of the country’s tech ecosystem. The Accelerator and the co -operative space helped invest more than 300 startups and in investing more than 100 million for companies emerging from its programs. Successes like MS QRD (Obtained through Facebook) And his roots (allegedly obtained by Snap Chat) can go to the early hectoral heck, which was attended by young people in the hope of a better future.
“He was the main center of the Venture Community in Belarus.” Max GrotsGeneral Partner in Vatosha Venture Partners in Bulgaria, and preliminary patron in the Imagero. “They collected talent, investors, angels, run the most important program – it is always a pleasure to go there.”
Another Vice Chancellor, based in the United States Marvin Liao The Rolling Fund Dia D. Varad Dot VC, agrees. “He was very professional and really excited,” he told Tech Crunch. “The imagery was the first central place where the founders and aspirants of the startup were gathered in Belarus. Tanya and Nastia were truly a community builder.”
Their effect was not just economic. The late husband of Marinich, Michael MarinichYears ago, he had paid a high price for his own disgrace.
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He was jailed from 2004 to 2006 after he dared to contest against President Alexander Lukashenko in the general election. He faced a number of strokes in jail, an experience that made the decision to leave Tatiana’s International Finance Corporation at the World Bank and start his own plan.
He said, “I was forced.” Not only to survive economically, but because I believe in the same democratic values, my husband has sacrificed his health. “
“If politics fails,” he said, “then you have to make your future. Businesses are free thinkers – and question freely from independent people. “
For the Lukashenko government, this belief made the Amajuro dangerous.
When freedom disagreeing
After 2020 elections, which were Is seen as a massive fraudMassive protests spread in Belarus. The Amajuro has decided to open its doors not only for businessmen but also for civil society groups, NGOs and opposition data.
Mermich joined it Coordination CouncilOpposition Leader Sivelana Tuskhanoskaya, a formal opposition agency. It was the last straw for the Lukashenko government.
“He signed a statement and said he wanted to hold free elections,” Grots said. “But from that moment, it is evident that the state became the enemy, and like the Amajuro, anything related to it was completely forbidden.”
By 2021, political pressure became unbearable. The lease of the Amajuro was forcibly abolished by the government. As Tech Crunch reported at the time, Masked officers raided his offices.
By 2023, KGB nominated Amajuro an “extremist formation”, which was declared a punishable offense in Belarus. A former director was arrested. Exile was questioned by the family members of the Imperial Staff. Their website was blocked in several countries. The assets were frozen. And on December 2 last year, both the founders were sentenced to jail.
On the same day, the passport of Belarus in Marinich ended. Under Lukashenko’s Executive Order, the embassy of Belarus can no longer issue documents for citizens abroad nor renew them, which effectively trap the differences in the unlawful countries.
“I am a weird person,” said Maryamich. “I have a European residential permit, but without any passport, I can’t even apply for citizenship. I can’t leave Spain. I can’t open a bank account.”
Despite the circumstances, the two founders continue their mission. The imagery now runs in Warsaw and Madrid in collaboration with European institutions. The team is also launching a campaign to support entrepreneurship through human rights and online. Application.
“They really love their country.” And now they can never go back. It is heartbreaking. I have written recommendations for international programs for both of them. I’ll do it again in a second. They are good people, and it’s injustice. “
Global examination of values
Although the Amajuro has institutional support in Poland and Lithuania, the Spanish government has not yet responded to the appeals. Marinich is in Lumbo, hopefully it can help to shift bureaucratic apathy.
Tech Crunch contacted the office of the State of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence Secretary Maria Gonzlez Verakroz in Spain, but no response was received at the time of publication.
“This is clearly a political crackdown.” Democratic governments should make every effort to help them. “
Gorts agrees: “Even junior employees who once worked in the imagery cannot return to Belarus. It is not just about the two founders. It is about a whole community who has been deported to believe in innovation and freedom.”
Maryamch is notorious.
“We made something beautiful,” he said. “Now we are fighting for the right of existence. And we are not defeating.”