Aliaksandar Atroschankau: This fascist regime uses slavery to its advantage

Andrei Sannikov’s press secretary gave an exclusive interview to the website charter97.org.

We talked to Aliaksandar Atroschankau while he was in a car on his way from the Vitsiebsk prison where he had been doing the 4-year sentence passed after the events of 19 December 2010.

- Sasha, you were released, how did it happen?

- Yesterday around 16:30 I went to the prison store to buy some food. And there they told me that my papers had been taken from the store, and that I should start packing. I was surprised and thought it was a provocation; even the head of my unit knew nothing about that. Well, it was not a provokation. During the evening control I was told I had 15 minutes to pack. It took much less. I packed only letters. They took me to the railway station where Siargey Parsiukevich was waiting for me. I don’t know how everyone found out that I had been released. I think I was the last one to learn.

- Were you asked to write an appeal to Lukashenka?

- On Friday they offered me to write an appeal but I didn’t do that. A man came, said he was an employee of the Department of execution of penalties. In the prison administration they offered me to appeal several days in a row. They were obviously fulfilling an order.

- Did these people explain why you should write the appeal?

- They simply got an order which they tried to fulfill. They told me that my being in prison hinders the dialogue with Europe. Our first conversation lasted for 6 hours.

- Did you at least get any food during this conversation?

- I got tea.

- How did they treat you in prison?

- Just like all other prisoners. The Vitsiebsk prison is a model prison. There were lots of former policemen and KGB officers, tax inspectors, military people, many businessmen. The prison is quite small, all employees and prisoners know each other. I was treated fairly and never engaged in any conflicts.

- And how do these people – policemen, KGB officers, businessmen – speak of Lukashenka?

- During all this time I’ve met only one person who praised him for “a couple of good things”, but in some days this person was granted a premature release. I think he was not completely honest. I haven’t heard anything good about Lukashenka from anyone else.

- When you were in prison, you told you lawyer about the tortures in KGB investigation isolation prison, where you had been kept before the trial. What was going on there?

- Yes, that is true. Every day I had to run downstairs to the cellar carrying all my belongings. I had to stay outside in the cold weather completely naked in stretch position. Everything was staged as a regular search, but it was nothing else than pressure and torture. When we were running downstairs they were beating our calves with batons and clicking with tasers.

We had to go to interrogations and different “talks” handcuffed. Officers and the head of KGB prison summoned me all the time to tell that my life depends on my willingness to cooperate with the investigation. The cooperation implied false witnessing against Andrei Sannikov and Zmitser Bandarenka. I made it clear I would not do that.

- And threats, of course?

- Everything was done to suppress the spirit; I was kept in a complete information isolation (they even cut out articles from “Sovetskaya Belorussiya”), with no correspondence. They wanted me to know that I have been watched all my life, including its most intimate moments. Everything was used for intimidation, even a 25-year sentence and death penalty. They didn’t even deny that they define the punishment and that the court does everything they tell it to do.

- How can you comment on your sentence?

- I took part in the demonstration on 19 December only as a journalist and the press-secretary of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov. I went to see what was going on. The crowd was pushing me the very moment someone was filming. It must have been a provocation staged by the authorities, and the violence in the powers’ reaction to a peaceful protest of its people against the forged results of the presidential voting is inexplicable.

By the way, as I learnt in the KGB prison, the wooden shields that we had to sleep on because of the lack of prison beds, had been prepared several weeks before the election. Which means that the powers had been getting ready to arrest lots of opposition members.

- And what is your impression of the trial?

- It was not a trial but a staged play. Hearings of some of my administrative cases used to take more time that the hearing of this criminal case. The policemen’s evidences were not against me. They confirmed that I had not punched anything, called upon anything. Nevertheless, this is the sentence – 4 years in restricted order prison.

- What kept you going all this time?

- The thought that I am not alone, that there are people struggling for me and other political prisoners, that I have support of my family and friends, especially my wife and parents. In prison I received thousands of letters and postcards with most sincere words of support. It helped a lot, really. In my life, I’ve always met people who are ready to help. Prison is a very peculiar place where much depends on complete strangers. I was lucky to meet many decent people.

- Obviously, political prisoners like yourself are being released because of the very tense economic situation and lack of money in the country. What can you tell about that?

- Yes, today Belarus is at the front line of the fight against human trafficking. And the entire world should show the Belarusian powers that they cannot trade political prisoners. People’s sufferings cannot be trading goods. I can see understanding in Europe, and I hope there will be no compromising. This is a fascist regime that eagerly uses slavery to its advantage. They told me in the KGB that we would be sold. I am happy to see that the world didn’t buy it.

- What are your plans now?

- I will struggle for the release of other political prisoners.