Siarhei Zhygaliou was born on July 19, 2005, and lived in Minsk. He was allegedly detained in December 2023.

According to a propaganda film shown on state television in late April 2024, Siarhei was an active member of the anarchist cell “Black Nightingales,” whose goal was allegedly to carry out sabotage in Belarus and Russia. According to the film, the organization was linked to the “People’s Liberation Army of Ukraine” and the Security Service of Ukraine.

In addition to Siarhei Zhygaliou, the following individuals were also detained in connection with the Black Nightingales case: Mariya Misyuk, Trafim Barysau, Dmitry Zakhoroshko, Anastasia Klimenko, and Alexandra Pulynovich. In the film, some of the detainees talk about their roles, in particular, claiming that they gathered at an apartment in Baranovichi, where they tried to assemble an explosive device, and later planned to test it.

According to what Zhihaliou shared in the film, he rented an apartment in Baranavichy where anarchists gathered. According to the state channel, Siarhei was involved in purchasing components to create a homemade explosive device.

Activists from the Black Nightingales group put up posters and wrote slogans against war and dictatorship, such as “Death to dictatorship,” “A new tsar, a new 1917,” and “Long live Belarus.”

It is known that the anarchists were accused of “preparing an act of terrorism” (Article 13, Part 3, Article 289 of the Criminal Code) and “preparing illegal actions involving firearms and explosives” (Article 13, Part 4, Article 295 of the Criminal Code) committed by an organized group, as well as “desecration of structures” (Article 341 of the Criminal Code).

In October 2025, the court sentenced Siarhei Zhyhaliou Barysau to 12 years in prison.