‘Teddy Bear Air Drop’ Happened In Belarus 7 Years Ago

The bright and daring action of the Swedes astonished the world.

Seven years ago, on July 4, 2012, the Swedish pilots dropped over a thousand teddy bears with slogans in support of freedom of speech over the territory of Belarus.

Risking their lives, employees of the Swedish advertising agency Studio Total Thomas Mazetti, Per Cromwell and Hanna Frey flew over the last European dictatorship to support the independent journalists persecuted here.

The fearlessness of the Swedes astonished the world. At any moment their small light aircraft could be downed. Fortunately, the flight went well. Desperate brave souls threw hundreds of teddy bears over Minsk and Ivianets with notes “In support of freedom of speech in Belarus”.

The bold and bright action showed not only the shortcomings of the country's air defense system, but also how the Belarusian authorities react to the information they disagree with.

The KGB of Belarus opened a criminal case on the fact of illegal border crossing, two Belarusian citizens were detained. First, Anton Surapin was arrested, at that time a 20-year-old student of the Institute of Journalism, who was the first to post photos of the toys on his website. Later it became known about the detention of another person - realtor Siarhei Basharymau, who was to rent housing to the Swedes.

Anton Surapin spent 35 days in the KGB jail.

Already in July 2012, Lukashenka dismissed Chairman of the State Border Committee Ihar Rachkouski and Commander of the Air Forces and the Air Defense Forces Dzmitry Pakhmelkin, reprimands were announced to a number of heads of security agencies.

In August 2012, the Swedish ambassador was also expelled from Minsk.

It later became known that the Hrodna Inter-Garrison Military Court sentenced the border guard in the rank of ensign, who did not duly report the violation of the state border by a Swedish plane, to two years of imprisonment in a reinforced-security penal institution. He was found guilty under Part 2 of Article 453 (violation of the rules of the border service) of the Criminal Code of Belarus.

Swedish pilots became laureates of the 2012 Charter'97 National Award in the field of human rights defense.