“Siloviks Tried to Lure Me Out”: A Political Prisoner Who Escaped from “Chemistry” Told How He Managed It

Almost a detective story from Dzmitry Kulakou.

Political prisoner Dzmitry Kulakou managed to escape from the open-type correctional institution No. 49 in Shklou. The court sentenced him to 3.5 years of "chemistry" for commenting on a police officer on social networks, which the authorities regarded as a "threat of violence" against the security officer and "insulting a government official."

Already in Lithuania, Kulakou told Nasha Niva how he escaped.

“It was just the first day that I changed jobs - I transferred from a loader to a locksmith at a feed mill in Aleksandryja. 15 minutes before lunchtime, I said that I need to go wash my hands. And after that, I'll eat and take a nap in the booth, since I don't get enough sleep on "chemistry."

Of course, I did not go to sleep - I disassembled the phone, disconnected the battery cable, threw away the SIM card. I carefully looked around so no one could see me, jumped over the fence, and ran. At work, they noticed an hour and a half later that I was not there.

I crossed the border on the 31st. Until then, I was constantly hiding in Belarus because they could declare an interception plan. As far as I understand, first, they try to find me, and then they calm down and start using other methods.

Kulakou said that the security forces tried to lure him out of hiding:

“They told me through other people that my wife was allegedly wanted, that they wanted to extradite her to Belarus (she and her children had left for Lithuania a month before) - they thought maybe I would give myself out on my nerves, make a mistake. The Dapamoga organization helped both me and my family to leave.

The police were looking for me at home: they came to the address of my registration in Lepel and Shumilina, where I lived. But even my relatives didn't know where I was. Hiding was the hardest thing."

Later, Dzmitry was tied up with another refugee. On July 31, they were dropped off near the border, and, half an hour later, the men were already in another country.

“There was excitement because everything happened during the day. We crossed the border, went to the nearest Lithuanian village, asked a local resident to call the border guards. He also specified which - Belarusian or Lithuanian. I thought, suddenly it was the mushroom pickers who got lost. We said Lithuanian. Border guards came and took us to the outpost, where we spent six days.

In Lithuania, a man applied for refugee status. Now he is with his family.