Lukashenka Commits Crimes Against Humanity

At least eight political prisoners were killed in Belarusian dungeons.

The critical situation with Belarusian political prisoners was discussed at the official meeting of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Belarus. The event was organized by the head of the delegation, MP from Lithuania Juozas Olekas. The speakers from Belarus at the meeting were Natallia Radzina, the Editor-in-Chief of the Charter97.org website, Leanid Sudalenka, a human rights activist and former political prisoner, and Andrei Sharenda, the coordinator of the European Belarus Civil Campaign and husband of political prisoner Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk.

Natallia Radzina: What is happening in Belarusian prisons is a crime against humanity

Natallia Radzina, Editor-in-Chief of Charter97.org, noted in her speech that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of such seriously ill political prisoners in Belarusian prisons. The repression in the country has not stopped for the fourth year after Lukashenka's defeat in the presidential election. “Prisoners of conscience are in horrific conditions. They are suffering torture and being killed. They are killed, in fact, with impunity, since there has been no international reaction to these crimes so far,” the journalist said.

Natallia Radzina told how political prisoners are deprived of their lives in Belarus today.

On April 9, 2024, Aliaksandr Kulinich died in the Brest pre-trial detention center. He was a reserve lieutenant colonel, serving in an Airborne Assault Brigade of the Airborne Forces. He was accused of allegedly "insulting" Lukashenka. He spent a month in custody and died a week before the trial. Coronary heart disease was an alleged reported cause of his death but there is a high probability that the person with heart disease was tortured.

Public activist Ihar Lednik died in a prison hospital at the end of February 2024. He was convicted of allegedly "slandering Lukashenka". The cause of the political prisoner's death was also cardiac arrest.

On January 9, 2024, 50-year-old political prisoner Vadzim Khrasko died of pneumonia in a Vitebsk prison. Vadzim had several diseases and was ill in custody. He was provided with no medical assistance.

On July 11, 2023, political prisoner and well-known Belarusian artist Ales Pushkin died in intensive care. Ales had a perforated ulcer. He was not provided with timely assistance in prison.

On July 5, 2023, 37-year-old local poet and participant of contemporary art festivals Zmitser Sarokin died allegedly because of heart issues in the building of the Lida Police Station after being detained.

Political prisoner and blogger Mikalai Klimovich died in prison on May 7, 2023. The announced cause is cardiac arrest.

Political prisoner Zmitser Dudoits committed suicide in Mahiliou on January 5, 2022.

Political prisoner Vitold Ashurak died in the Shklou prison on May 21, 2021. The official cause was a heart attack but his relatives found his body truncated when took it for funeral. He was beaten and tortured to death in prison.

It is also known that in 2021, two political detainees died from COVID-19 in Belarusian detention centers: Alena Amelina and Siarhei Shchetsinka.

Also in 2021, a 17-year-old teenager committed suicide in Minsk due to persecution for participating in protests. He jumped out of a 16-story building on May 25, 2021. The guy left a deathbed post on social media: "Investigative Committee is guilty."

How many more political prisoners can die in Belarusian prisons?

Natallia Radzina noted that there are many pensioners among political prisoners, as well as people with disabilities and serious illnesses. They are not provided with proper medical care, medical examinations, and necessary medications. The lives of these people are in danger, every day of imprisonment for them may be the last.

For more than a year, nothing has been known about the state of health of Mikalai Statkevich, the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Narodnaia Hramada ("People's Assembly"). He is kept in complete isolation, in solitary confinement, meetings with a lawyer and family are prohibited for him. The 67-year-old politician suffered covid four times in prison and he also suffers from heart problems.

Ryhor Kastusiou, the 66-year-old leader of the BPF party, was sentenced to ten years in prison, although he was diagnosed with cancer. His condition is severe

The trade union leader, 66-year-old Henadz Fiadynich, has heart problems and diabetes, and his colleague, 73-year-old Vasil Berasnieu, suffers from pain in a single kidney, he may have cancer. Both are sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Andrei Voinich, an activist of the European Belarus Civil Campaign, is mortally ill. He suffers from liver cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, a tumor above the adrenal glands, his gallbladder removed, and there are many related aftertroubles. He needs an urgent liver transplant.

68-year-old Viachaslau Areshka has problems with his eyes, he is threatened with blindness. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

62-year-old Halina Dzerbysh suffers from oncology and heart problems. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

63-year-old activist Uladzimir Hundar has a second-degree disability, he lost one leg. He was sentenced to 18 years in a medium-security prison. They often threw him into solitary confinement. He repeatedly went on hunger strikes.

72-year-old retired political prisoner Vasil Dzemidovich was sentenced to 7 years in prison. The man is constantly bullied, being transferred from one prison to another in difficult conditions: in the Stolypin car (a prison-type of railroad carriage), under the strict control of guards and dogs, in shackles, they are often not fed him.

62-year-old Ala Zuyeva suffers from blood leukemia, the political prisoner believes that her sentence can be compared to a death sentence.

Henrykh Akalatovich, 70 years old, suffered a heart attack in the isolation ward and underwent stomach surgery recently due to cancer.

Aliaksandr Fiaduta, a 59-year-old political scientist, was diagnosed with acute heart failure. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Journalist Kseniya Lutskina has a tumor in the brain: it grows and provokes severe pain. Sentence — 8 years in prison.

The 29-year-old political prisoner Pavel Kuchynski has stage IV cancer, but he was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of such seriously ill political prisoners in Belarusian prisons. I can't list everyone's cases because it will take a long time. But the main thing is that we do not know all the cases, since human rights activists do not know the names and situations of all prisoners of conscience.

What is happening in Belarusian prisons is a crime against humanity. The Lukashenko regime has disregarded all laws: Belarusian and international, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Convention against Torture and the mandatory United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the so-called Nelson Mandela Rules.

The criminal Belarusian regime should be punished for crimes against humanity. It's necessary to impose tough economic sanctions against the Lukashenka regime for torturing and abusing political prisoners, for killing political prisoners, for driving people to suicide, for absence of medical care to seriously ill people.

This is shocking, but the regime has not suffered serious sanctions for these crimes: economic sanctions were imposed against the regime for the forced landing of a passenger plane in 2021, the migration crisis and participation in the war against Ukraine. But not for killing people. This mistake must be corrected as soon as possible, otherwise there may be even more victims. Impunity will lead to more crimes,” said Natallia Radzina, Editor-in-Chief of Charter97.org.

Leanid Sudalenka: It is necessary to save people immediately

Human rights activist, former political prisonerLeanid Sudalenka spoke about his personal experience and the torture he had to go through in prison:

“I am Leanid Sudalenka, a Belarusian human rights activist who was imprisoned for three years for my peaceful work to protect victims of the 2020 repression. I was forced to leave Belarus due to the ongoing repression right after I was released at the end of my term. Subsequently, the Lukashenka regime brought new charges, threatening to send me to prison for 7 years after trial in absentia, they accused me of facilitating extremist activities, and in fact, for not being silent – I talked about torture, about the inhumane conditions in which thousands of Belarusian political prisoners are held.

After leaving prison, the feeling of despair and hopelessness does not leave me for a single day. The next death of a Belarusian political prisoner behind prison bars only reinforces these feelings and I am helpless once again. Once again, thoughts of torture and inhumane conditions in which political prisoners are held emerge.

Intellectually, everyone there thinks about the meaning of life, rethinks it and, perhaps, says goodbye to it more than once. Morally, it is twice as hard there, because understanding the legal chaos does not let go for a minute – political prisoners are behind bars without committing a crime, just for disagreeing, for demanding change!

Stress and a constant aggressive environment slowly take away thier health. Especially in punishment cells, where cold is also torture, where underwear is taken away, no mattresses and bed linen, there is poor nutrition and lack of vitamins and walks. Where they are kept in solitary confinement. Political prisoners are kept there for months and even years without communication with the outside world. There is a complete lack of medical diagnostics and no communication with the outside world.

In the breaks between isolators, they forcibly send political prisoners to dirty and harmful work in cold industrial workshops. Given the long duration of these hardships, few will survive without harm to their health. My thoughts today are with 60-year-old Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize winner imprisoned for 10 years. He is kept in a cold solitary cell. News about the noticeable deterioration in his health comes from there. I do not find the answer to the question of what we will do when one day we find out that his health has not withstood torture...

My thoughts today are about thousands of other political prisoners, about human rights activists, about journalists, trade union leaders and politicians, about simple and concerned Belarusians who survive in prisons without crimes. My feelings are the feelings of a surviving witness, this is what bothers me and does not leave me alone today,” the human rights activist said.

Leanid Sudalenka also said that in Vitebsk prison #3, where he was serving his sentence, out of 1,000 prisoners, 300 were political prisoners, that is, almost a third. Prisoners of conscience are forced to wear special yellow tags and the conditions of detention for political prisoners are incomparably tougher than those of the rest convicts.

According to the human rights activist, it is necessary to immediately save people, since it is extremely difficult to survive in prison today. "It’s necessary to deliver a tough ultimatum to Lukashenka and demand the release of political prisoners, otherwise there will be more deaths in prisons," Sudalenka said.

Andrei Sharenda: What is happening in Belarus is a default of law and the apogee of lawlessness and violence

Andrei Sharendo, the coordinator of the European Belarus, the husband of political prisoner Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, said that today his wife is threatened with the fourth (!) sentence term. There is a threat that the authorities will again refuse to release this woman, the mother of two children, from prison, although her next term ends on May 21.

"Palina has been held hostage by the Lukashenka regime for almost three and a half years. And all this time she is subjected to inhuman torture. Immediately after her arrest, Palina stated that she did not recognize the Lukashenka regime as legitimate and considered herself not a convict, but a prisoner of war. At her trial, she stated that she did not recognize his decision and refused to testify. The dictatorial regime takes revenge on a woman for her strong stand. They almost always throw Palina into the inhuman conditions of a punishment cell and solitary confinement. Last year alone, she was held there for more than 200 days. Surviving even 10 days in a punishment cell is a colossal blow to the health and the whole body.

They also are putting pressure on Palina with psychiatric medicine. In all three and a half years, there was not a single call from Palina to her family. It was regularly solved by parcels and transfers, many letters simply did not reach her. In addition to all this, she has already twice added terms of imprisonment. They transferred her to the toughest prison for female repeat offenders, known for its terrible conditions of detention. In conclusion, Palina's chronic diseases worsened. She's just fighting for her life for the last six months. After the next trial in the autumn of last year, the communication with Palina completely disappeared. A method of psychological pressure known as incommunicado was used against her, when a political prisoner and the prisoner’s relatives are completely isolated from all methods of communication. A lawyer is not allowed to visit her for six months and letters are not handed over. We haven't known anything about her state of health for six months. Only a month ago, under pressure from the international community, Belarusian propaganda TV showed a video with Palina. But it is clear that this video was shot under psychological pressure and torture, and is all staged.

What is happening in Belarus now is a complete default of law and the apogee of lawlessness and violence. Political prisoners in Belarus are brutally tortured and simply killed in prisons. In the past few months alone, the Lukashenka regime has killed five political prisoners. The relatives of all political prisoners live in a state of constant anxiety for their lives. We have legitimate reasons to fear for Palina's life and health. Therefore, I ask you to do everything possible to release her.

Unfortunately, the whole civilized world has actually turned a blind eye to what is happening in Belarus. There is still no proper response to the actions of the Lukashenka regime. Just a few dozen kilometers from the EU capitals, there are concentration camps where political prisoners, including women and children, are tortured and killed," said Andrei Sharenda.

MEPs: New sanctions should be imposed against Lukashenka

The Chair of the Delegation for relations with Belarus Juozas Olekas, called the situation with political prisoners in Belarus "dramatic". The MEP noted that the European Parliament is closely monitoring the situation in Belarus and is aware of the deaths of prisoners of conscience in custody. They are also extremely concerned about the lack of communication with political prisoners, including the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Mikalai Statkevich, about whom nothing has been known for more than 430 days. According to the politician, Europe needs to act against the Lukashenka regime more actively and impose new sanctions.

Francesca Cardona, the head of the Belarus Team of the European External Action Service, confirmed her readiness to continue the EU policy towards the Lukashenko regime declared after the 2020 events: "Work on sanctions continues. As you know, the decision is made by consensus of all EU member states, but there is definitely a desire to continue to exert pressure. ”

MEP from Poland Anna Fotyga stressed the importance of Ukraine's victory for future changes in Belarus: "The fate of Belarus as a state will undoubtedly improve after Ukraine's victory over Russia, which is the only solution to a large number of problems in the region and not only." The MEP urged her colleagues to remember Belarusian political prisoners, despite the growing tension in the world: “I am very concerned about the growing possibility of escalation in different places — this can cause autocrats, such as Lukashenka, a sense of impunity for committing new atrocities. Therefore, it is important to continue to signal that we, the European Parliament, are monitoring the situation with political prisoners in Belarus.”

Special Rapporteur of the European Parliament on Belarus Petras Auštrevičius expressed his empathy to the Belarusians under the oppression of the regime and reminded of the responsibility of all those involved in political repression: "The responsibility lies not only with Lukashenka personally but those who voluntarily serve the Lukashenka regime are also bear the responsibility."

Petras Auštrevičius spoke out strongly against the "occasional calls in the air" from "some disillusioned oppositionists" for negotiations with Lukashenka: "I understand everything, but I would like to warn against frivolous calls to start negotiations with Lukashenka: this would be a complete catastrophe, it would not lead to the release of all political prisoners, it would not bring change."

Natallia Radzina, Leanid Sudalenka and Andrei Sharenda also held several separate meetings with MEPs Juozas Olekas, Anna Fotyga, Andrius Kubilius, Isabel Santos, Petras Auštrevičius, Andrzej Halicki, the Office of the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, and also spoke at the European External Action Service, where they discussed the need to develop a new EU policy towards the dictatorship in Belarus.

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