Siarhiej Skrabec was born on 25 October 1963 in Lida, Grodno region. He graduated from the University of Technology, and worked as a technologist in the 90’s. From 1997 to 2001 he was a CEO of the department store BiełBabajewskoje.

He was a deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus (2000 – 2004), for a time he led an informal group of MPs Respublika. In summer 2004, together with members of the group, Uladzimir Parfienovich and Valery Frolov, he conducted a hunger protest against the third term of Lukashenko’s presidency. Siarhiej Skrabec was engaged in the campaigns aiming at the release of Aliaksandr Kazulin and other political prisoners.

Chronicle of repression

On 15 May 2005, Siarhiej Skrabec was arrested and charged with embezzling loans. In February 2006 he was sentenced to two and a half years in penal colony. He served his sentence in the colony in Vitebsk, where together with Aliaksandr Kazulin he led the hunger strike. He was released on 15 November 2006.