Zmitser Dashkevich: The only way to endure all that is to laugh

“Young Front” leader Zmitser Dashkevich is kept in the remand prison #1 in Valadarski Street, in a cell for 50 inmates.

The young politician sentenced to 2 years of deprivation of liberty, informed about that in a letter, received by Anastasiya Palazhanka on March 29.

“Dashkevich has written in the letter that he is kept in a cell for 50 inmates, and says it is not so much for him. He writes that there will be 65 prisoners there soon. As said by him, the only way to survive all that is to laugh. And he laughs, which is seen in his letters to us,” the girl informed.

On Monday Eduard Lobau had a chance to talk to his relatives for the first time over the 3 months which have passed since the moment of arrest. Eduard’s mother Maryna and his younger brother Ulad, talked to Eduard on the phone through a glass for one hour.

“Just for a few minutes we discussed what things we should bring to him before he is transferred to the colony, and the rest of the time we discussed recent news and political events,” Maryna Lobava told.

As said by the woman, Eduard had not been surprised by the verdict (4 years of imprisonment), as he had heard about the harsh verdicts of the court for participants of the rally on December 19, Atroshchankau, Mauchanau and Parfyankou. By the way, he stayed with Parfyankou in the same cell for some time, and before the trial he was in the same “glass” (a special room) with a political prisoner Mikita Likhavid.

After passing of the sentence Eduard Lobau decided to wait for the decision in his cassation appeal in Minsk. Many convicts write applications for ahead-of-schedule prison transfer, as there is an opinion that it is easier to serve the term in the colony, than in the remand prison. “It is good he is to stay in Minsk for some time: I will be able to bring more parcels to him; letters are delivered quicker, and another meeting could be granted to me probably,” Maryna Lobava approves the decision of her son.

Zmitser Dashkevich has decided not to expedite the prison transfer as well. On Monday a lawyer Maryana Syameshka met with him. But Zmitser was not lucky with meetings. Judge Alena Shylko denied Zmitser’s close friend Anastasiya Palazhanka a meeting with him. “I had written an application and passed it through the secretary of the judge. She took it without problems, but when she left the room she said the judge needs time to think it over. I understood she needs time to make a call to higher officials. And after a while a secretary came to me and guiltily gave the paper with the word: “Refused”. During the previous term of Zmitser’s imprisonement, in 2006, I have never been denied a meeting,” A. Palazhanka said. Zmitser Dashkevich’s parents are seriously ill and do not have a possibility to visit their son.

We remind that on March 24 members of the Young Front Zmitser Dashkevich and Eduard Lobau were sentenced to 2 years of standard regime penal colony and 4 years of maximum security penal colony respectively. They had been charged with “malicious hooliganism.” The hearings of their cassation appeals are to take place within a month.