Belarus "Letters from Lukashenka’s Prisoners" - 5 August 2024

"You could call it a place where time stands still. People are tortured by time...you feel like a boy forgotten in a park on a Ferris wheel."

(Imprisoned film director, author and poet, Ihnat Sidorchyk)

Sutton Amnesty attended a very interesting and informative event, “Letters from Lukashenka’s Prisoners”, which gave an insight into the current situation in Belarus.

Since the 2020 election in Belarus, widely judged to be fraudulent, the Belarusian authorities, led by President Lukashenka, have conducted a violent crackdown against dissenting voices.

This has been overshadowed to some extent by increased international attention on the role of the Belarus government in the war in Ukraine. In the meantime, the Belarusian courts have continued trials against those objecting to the Lukashenka regime including doctors, journalists, scientists, lawyers, students, bloggers and peaceful protesters. There have been over 35,000 arrests.

We learned that there are still more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus prisons facing harsh and isolating treatment. They are deprived of adequate food, water and medical assistance, and subjected to constant beatings, overcrowded and unheated cells and sleep deprivation.

One of the only ways in which the prisoners could previously communicate with the outside world was through letters, however this has become subject to even greater censorship.

Here is an excellent link for you with profiles of some of the political prisoners where you can also read their very personal, moving and courageous letters: https://www.indexoncensorship.org/campaigns/letters-from-lukashenkas-prisoners-2/

We also had the opportunity to watch the documentary, “The Accidental President”, about Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who bravely decided to run against President Lukashenka. She stepped into the place of her husband who was imprisoned as the opposition candidate. She won the popular vote, (more than 80%), but was forced to flee. The documentary follows Tsikhanouskaya as Belarus’ de facto head of state in exile based in Lithuania. She was sentenced in Belarus to 15 years in prison for treason and conspiracy to seize power. The documentary shows how she becomes a spokesperson for her people both in Belarus and with the international community and global leaders. It also highlights the extreme difficulty and mental strain of living in exile, having left family and friends behind.
 
There were many people in the audience at the event who were from Belarus, or with contacts there, and the documentary prompted them spontaneously to sing the Belarus protest song, “Moment”, which was both moving and uplifting.

What is the current situation?

In July, largely due to mounting international pressure following the death of six people in detention, 18 political prisoners were released on the grounds of ill health.

58 Nobel prize winners, including Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, have since signed an open letter urging Lukashenka to agree to a political amnesty.

A total of 38 countries, including the U.K., have also called for the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners and a large-scale reform of existing laws to end systemic political repression in Belarus.

However, in June, amendments to the criminal code made it even easier for authorities to mount criminal prosecutions for “crimes of an anti-state orientation”.

The key message from the event was similar to other Amnesty campaigns in that we need to continue to raise awareness and urge decision makers, influential organisations and governments to maintain the pressure on Belarus. This is all the more urgent as Lukashenka has ruled Belarus for over three decades and will seek re-election in 2025.