Edit: I don't have direct evidence of saving lives (e.g. somebody bribed a guard with bitcoin in order to escape execution), but it's not hard to argue that these resistance organizations do save lives.

* https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2020/09/09/belarus-nonprofit...

* https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/10/16/nigerian-banks-shut...

* https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2020/07/15/russian-activists...

* https://wikileaks.org/