Sannikov’s sister about tortures in KGB: I hope case against Lukashenka to be taken to court soon

Andrei Sannikov’s sister, one of the founders of “Free Belarus Now” public initiative Iryna Bahdanava (Bogdanova) from the Great Britain answers questions of Radio Svaboda.

Bahdanava has stated that the case related to tortures in the KGB is to be sent to court soon.

- The Prosecutor has demanded to sentence you brother, a presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov (Sannikau), to 7 years’ imprisonment in a colony with a reinforced regime. Lawyers state that Sannikov’s responsibility for organizing mass riots has not been proved, and ask to declare him not guilty. The verdict is to be delivered today. Do you believe in miracles?

- Certainly not. All the trials which are held today are farce. The cases had been trumped up. In every court judge is holding the trial routinely according to their scenario. Id does not matter why they are doing so, let them have it on their conscience. I knew that from the start that Andrei would be sentenced to a long term. If our country had a normal system of jurisprudence, all defendants would be released in the courtroom for absence of elements of crime in the act.

- Andrei Sannikov called the court “a political reprisal” over the candidate for presidency who was a realistic challenger to Lukashenka and expressed his readiness to take the responsibility for the country… I have come through tortures, humiliation and threats. I will have to come through trials again,” Sannikov stated. Naturally, for you as a sister, it is hard to hear the words of your brother about tortures in the prison. To your mind, what are possibilities of external pressure on the authorities in the case of your father and other prisons, participants of the protest rally on the Square?

- It’s true, it was very difficult for me, though I suspected from the start that such things happen in the KGB, and then my suspicions were unfortunately verified by the statement of Ales Mikhalevich, and I am very thankful to him, as after his statement, tortures stopped to some extent, as some prisoners said. I could not sleep the whole last night, as I distressed for Andrei, and what would happen to Andrei after his statement – whether he would disappear simply, or whether they would leave him alone. I hope that they have left him alone. But no one knows what is to happen next.

- You were one of the people who offered to initiate legal proceedings against Lukashenka in the West. One of the charges – tortures in prison. Ales Mikhalevich was the first to make a statement about that. At what stage the preparation to this trial is, and whether the recent statements by Sannikov expedite it?

- It started when the first lawyer of Sannikov, Pavel Sapelka, saw Andrei right after the arrest… Even before that, Andrei was beaten while he was arrested, though everyone understands that he could not struggle with policemen on arrest. It was brutal beating, and moreover, possibly an attempt to murder him. And I initiated a case basing upon that, and on the facts that medical assistance had been denied to him many times. Later testimony of Mikhalevich was added, and now – the testimony of Andrei himself. So the case is moving on. The major problem is that preparing such a great number of materials takes a good deal of time. But there is progress in the case, and I hope it will be taken to court soon.