Mikalai Autukhovich: Mikalai Dziadok is dangerous for regime

The political prisoner probably has high political potential, so they decided to hold him in prison in the year of “elections”.

Former political prisoner and businessman Mikalai Autukhovich told charter97.org that the prosecution of Mikalai Dziadok, who already serves his term, can mean that the regime finds him dangerous. He probably has the skills or abilities that make his release from prison undesirable amid crisis in the year of “elections”.

Investigators probably said a lot about Dziadok when giving character evidence, so the authorities want to hold him in prison for a longer time,” he thinks.

“It seems that the situation of Dziadok is not easy for the authorities. He probably has a strong character, so he is dangerous for the regime. Perhaps, he can organise people, or he has a group of support in prison that he created to solve some issues with the prison administration. They fear it. Perhaps, he has some unique skills that we don't know. So, they don't want to release him.

– You were in a similar situation in prison. How did you behave?

– When I felt they accused me of violating rules for nothing, I understood how it would end. The aim of the prison authorities was clear: the more violations you have, the easier it is to try you. I protested and didn't give them an opportunity to do it to me. That's why they didn't want to release me. They tried to hard to accuse me! They said prison officers did not lie.

– Is there a chance to challenge the verdict?

– I was the first to appeal against such verdicts when I faced what Mikalai Dziadok has faced. Lawyers from Hrodna told me they had never seen an inmate to go to court against prison authorities during his prison term. I filed an appeal, there was a trial where I proved that no violations could have taken place. My cellmate gave evidence after his release and I received a letter from the correctional facility that I hadn't violated anything. But at that time they didn't find my arguments valid. The court does what it was ordered to do if there is an order. They look for details in laws and ignore your arguments, saying that you should have made them earlier.

When I returned to my cell in the evening after the trial, I found my cellmates beaten. Prison officers wanted to make them give the necessary evidence. One man came to the trial and said everything. He said that they had been beaten, pressed and insulted. I told him: don't be afraid, there are journalists here, people will know the truth.

It has no sense to appeal against such decisions. They are one team. Yes, they may have some errors. They fabricate the violations that you can confute easily. For example, a man said one thing at the trial against me, but he said a different thing after the release. He explained to the court that he did it because he was scared. They sent gays to my cell to provoke me. They wanted me to beat them, so that prison authorities could have a concrete ground to hold me in prison for a longer time.

– When will this outrage end? Is it possible to bring them to justice?

– Dziadok is right: the system will collapse one day. The system is based on lies. All these people will be punished after it ends. One year has passed, but I hasn't said everything what happened to me in prison.

Political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok was tried on February 26. The activist was sentenced to one more year of imprisonment.

Human rights defenders note that harassment of opposition members, journalist and small businessmen has increased in the last months. New political prisoners have appeared, the number of preventive arrests of activists has grown, a number of new repressive laws have been adopted, independent websites have been blocked, pressure on small business has increased. Experts explain it with the fact that many EU officials close their eyes to human rights violations in Belarus and try to establish a “dialogue” with the dictator.