Valancina Alijenievich: Snow is blue in Navapolatsk penal colony because of pollution

The mother of political prisoner Ihar Alijenievich met his in prison.

The long term meeting took place on 24 December and lasted for less than a day. In an interview to the charter97.org web-site Valancina Alijenievich told about the conditions that her son is kept in.

“Up until the last moment the meeting was under a question, - Ihar Alijenievich’s mother told. – Son as well as we did not know for sure. He wrote that lately he had had one reprimand after another, he could be deprived of the meeting at any moment. But it did take place, although they did not allowed the whole day even. Ihar was brought in at 15.00 and taken away the next morning at 9.30.

The appearance is the same only thin and pale. But everyone looks like that, it is hard to expect something different. The spirit remains the same. He did not tell much about himself. He said that the regime had toughened lately. Former head of the colony was promoted to Viciebsk penitentiary department. Other prisoners told of the plans to close the Navapolatsk colony due to the expansion of the Naftan enterprise which is just next to it, but the plans were then cancelled”.

Valancina Alijenievich said that the number of prisoners in the colony dropped by three times. Now there are 960 people there. She also paid attention to the terrible ecology of the institution.

“Air pollution is made at night, - she told. – On the next morning the snow is blue. I know that Andrei Sannikov once complained about the ecology in the penal colony, but it was the colony that got fined, not the petrochemical giants nearby.

Relatives of prisoners also said that there are almost never vegetables in the prison shop, leave alone dairy, and they charge 30-40% more. This is the only colony, where the legally provided permission for prisoners to make phone calls home does not work in practice. All the colonies have paid phones, and the people there have the right to call home three times a month. There is no such thing in the Navapolatsk colony. There is a schedule of phone calls but it is not followed. Even more so, an appeal should be made in writing, which may be not signed, the relatives should be notified, while the letter may not come in time, the key may get lost to the room etc. This concerns not only Ihar, this is an attribute of this interesting colony, the former head of which, I repeat, was promoted”.

Valancina Alijenievich said that the conversation with the son lasted until morning.

“We spoke of political prisoners, former and future, Belarus and Russia, of Solzhenitsyn, of Khodorkovsky and Pereverzin, of Ukraine, of comrades, relatives and friends, of Europe and human rights organizations and much more, - she said. – Together with husband be brought a small fir tree, candles and traditionally ice-cream, which he had asked for, so we too had a little holiday. Although gurd dogs were barking behind the walls of that tiny room, and there were bars on the window. Ihar said he started receiving Christmas congratulations and asked to congratulate everyone on New Year’s festivities and thank for the solidarity”.

We would remind that Ihar Alijenievich was detained in September 2010 together with other activists of the anarchist movement. The trial started in May 2011. Ihar Alijenievich was sentenced to the longest imprisonment term – 8 years – for participating in an anti-war procession near the Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, as well as on charges of an alleged hooliganism action near the embassy of the Russian Federation, banks and a casino.