Today Alexander Lukashenko has signed papers to release all official political prisoners in the country. This includes anarchists Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Dziadok and Artsiom Prakapenko.
We would like to congratulate our comrades and thank everyone for the solidarity with them!
Despite the fact that court dismissed the appeal, Dzmitry Zvan’ko did not lose the hope and now looks forward to the expected amnesty in honor of 70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War or parole. But in both cases he should to pay the full amount awarded by the court. A symbolic actions in support of Dzmitry have taken place in several cities of Belarus and Russia as well as the collection of money for compensation. And according to acquaintances Dmitry the amount finally been successfully collected. In the colony Dmitry does not lose time in vain, including engaged in reading, and asked to send some books about anarchism. Read More
Ihar Alinevich was turned into a “malicious offender of prison rules” some days before the amnesty after a year of good behaviour.
The political prisoner wrote this in a letter to his mother Valyantina Alinevich on June 27, Belorusski Partizan reports.
“It was fault-finding – they said I was badly shaven and read too much during lights out time,” Ilar Alinevich explains why he was put on a list of malicious offenders of prison rules.
“I am an officially recognized ‘malicious offender’ since 19 June,” the political prisoner writes. “I saw my son in late May. He did not have any violations. Ihar became the last malicious offender among political prisoners. Maryna Lobava was told Eduard read too little, Mikalai Dzyadzok was seen in unbuttoned clothes 10 times. Ihar’s faults are that he is badly shaven and reads too much during lights out time. It’s the same as with other political prisoners – there was an order and Ihar was turned into a malicious offender after a year of good behaviour,” Valyantina Alinevich says.
“I have less money to buy food and cannot hope for amnesty,” Alinevich writes.
Ihar Alinevich is a Belarusian anarchist. On May 27, 2011 is found guilty of participating in the attack on the Russian embassy in Minsk, the arson of the Belarusbank, the attack on the casino “Shangri La” and the anti-militarist manifestation near the General Staff headquarters and was sentenced to 8 years of colony with the reinforced regime for group hooliganism and intentional destruction of property.
Background information: After the wave of repression against Belarusian anarchists had started in September 2010, Ihar had to hide from the Belarusian special forces abroad. On November 28, 2010 he was kidnapped by plaincloth cops in Moscow. On November 30, 2010 he was found in KGB prison in Minsk. Thus, breaking all the norms of criminal extradition Ihar was taken to Belarus from Russia less than in 2 days.
Ihar admitted only participation in the antimilitarist march and throwing a smoke grenade on the territory of the General Staff, but doesn’t consider it a criminal act. The sum of damages inflicted to property is estimated at 100 mln BYR (20 000 $).
Pardoned by the president on August 22, 2015.
While in jail, Ihar was able to write a diary and pass to the outside. The book “On the Way to Magadan” reflects what is happening in modern Belarus. It is about the choice that one has to make between life and death, freedom and imprisonment, conscience and betrayal. Whatever happened to Ihar, it happened in real life in the 21st century, in a “civilized” European country, before and after the 2010 presidential election. The book “On the Way to Magadan” is Belarus without censorship.
The book was translated into many languages, some are available for download.
Russian (buy paperback)
Belarusian
Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
English (buy paperback)
German (buy paperback)
Polish (buy paperback)
Spanish
French
Czech
Greek (buy paperback)
After more than 5 years of collaborative work on translation finally the book from Ihar Alinevich “On the way to Magadan” is now available in German! In the book former anarchist prisoner from Belarus Ihar Alinevich is describing his hardships during arrest in KGB prison in 2010-2011. Being kept in special prison for political targets of the state he was a subject to personal program of treatment with physical and psychological tortures. Read More