Коллаж: Алиса Гончар / Collage by Alisa Hanchar
The release of political prisoners is one of the main goals of the democratic movement. According to the Dissidentby initiative, there are 1,597 people in Belarus imprisoned for political reasons. The real number could be several times higher. Despite increasing repression, Belarusians continue to support their compatriots who have been unjustly imprisoned. Reform.news spoke with representatives of initiatives supporting political prisoners to learn about the challenges these organizations face and how people can help Belarusians.
Dissidentby is a non-profit initiative founded by Marina and Vyacheslav Kosinerov in 2019. It provides financial support to political prisoners and their families, conducts solidarity actions, and informs the public about the status and whereabouts of the prisoners.
Politzek.me is a platform aimed at drawing the attention of both Belarusians and the international community to the problem of political prisoners. The idea was developed by Viktor Babariko‘s team in 2021. Today, the organization is led by Inna Kovalenok. The organization also supports the families of prisoners and calls for assistance to their loved ones.
«Palityvzyanka» is a volunteer initiative that helps female political prisoners in Belarus. The project was created by Yevgeniya Dolgaya in the spring of 2022. Its main goal is to inform the audience about the real situation in Belarusian women’s prisons, revealing the terrible conditions and experiences of imprisonment, sending parcels, and supporting the relatives of imprisoned women.
Marina and Vyacheslav Kosinerov are activists of the anarchist movement who conceived the idea for such an initiative long before 2020, when more of their comrades began to be imprisoned. Human rights defenders for various reasons did not recognize them as political prisoners, so they had to collect help on their own. The symbol of the organization became the red triangle, which was used to mark political prisoners and leftist dissidents in Nazi camps. Marina recalls:
— We had no money. We started taking a donation box for political prisoners and attending protest actions. In 2017, we managed to collect 160 rubles, which allowed us to send a parcel to the pre-trial detention center.
The experience gained was useful in 2020. New participants began to join the initiative to help the detainees. According to Vyacheslav, activists with a background predicted full-scale repressions in the first months after the protests began. At that time, the founders of Dissidentby decided to use a horizontal management system, so that people would voluntarily unite to achieve common goals and act independently of each other. The Kosinerovs believe that such a system is harder to break: relationships between participants are closer, and each participant can help those in need.
Recently, over 220 people were detained in the INeedHelpBY case.
— Even now, after the security forces raided the INeedHelpBY case, detainees are being asked about connections with Dissidentby. They cannot believe that people self-organize. They think everything is paid for. The regime’s immoral actions are surprising. It has reached the point of absurdity, where people are prosecuted for receiving food aid! This is absurd. Security forces act this way because they do not have the physical ability to reach activists abroad.
Dissidentby continues to help political prisoners and their families, even from outside Belarus. For example, the «Guardian Institute» project is currently being implemented. Anyone willing to constantly support political prisoners morally and financially can become a guardian. As prison terms increase, the need for long-term support remains.
The initiative invites well-known Belarusians to become «Patrons» and loudly share the stories of specific individuals from the list of political prisoners through their communication channels. According to Marina, this personalization makes it more effective to convey the stories of political prisoners.
— Imprisonment is a great trial. Many people turn away: acquaintances, friends. It is important not only to receive help but also to have a connection with those who support you. This is very important for people.
Additionally, Dissidentby records the condition of political prisoners, obtaining information about the status and whereabouts of detainees through various means. Assistance is also provided to released political prisoners – the team plans to launch a separate project for their retraining and adaptation.
The organization’s activities are closely monitored by repressive authorities. The initiative has been recognized as extremist. Recently, security forces searched Marina’s mother’s home and questioned her about Dissidentby’s activities.
— Many years ago, as activists in Belarus, we realized that one of the most important criteria for work is when the security forces notice you. Another point is how people react to our activities. We are a more horizontal organization, and we get all our feedback from those we help.
According to Marina, at events, relatives of political prisoners often approach them to express gratitude for the help provided.
— It’s very nice when someone comes specifically to say ‘thank you’.
On the other hand, Marina continues, they also receive feedback from relatives that help does not reach them. In Belarus, authorities intimidate families of prisoners to keep them from revealing their situation publicly. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to contact families independently. Human rights defenders do a tremendous amount of work to get any information about the detainees.
— How can we help if we don’t even know someone is imprisoned? If you contact us, you will receive help. We will help ourselves or refer you to someone who can.
Usually, individuals are referred according to their request. Vyacheslav notes that a whole coalition of initiatives has formed, each specializing in specific aspects: legal, financial, and psychological assistance. Support can be obtained from BYSOL funds, «A Country for Life», the human rights center «Viasna». According to the activist, such synergy allows organizations to more effectively solve the task of supporting political prisoners:
— Hiding their atrocities is the regime’s strategy. Hiding the destruction of human rights, torture, and those who want to help. ‘Don’t report and don’t ask for help – or it will be worse’ is the rhetoric of the abuser, which needs to be broken.
Marina continues:
— As writer Yuri Olesha said, ‘torture loves silence’. If no one knows anything about it, you can do whatever you want with a person. Of course, publicity is not a guarantee that a person will be released. However, it helps to overcome certain difficulties.
The Kosinerovs believe that being listed as a political prisoner does not affect how the administration treats the prisoner, but it helps in showing solidarity from civil society.
— When a prisoner arrives at the colony, they are already marked as ‘political’. Regardless of whether they are on the lists or not. They will be treated the same as other political prisoners. They will be tagged and prohibited from making purchases in the prison shop. The person simply won’t receive parcels, letters, and will think that no one cares about them.
Human rights defenders say that collaborative work allows them to anticipate new methods of repression and act proactively:
— The authorities try to claim they know everything about everyone. In reality, they are simply using the repressive resources of the KGB, GUBOP, and the police to detain people, torment them, and record propaganda videos. All they can do is intimidate. The human rights community tries to work delicately, analyzing the situation and anticipating the regime’s actions.
According to the Kosinerovs, the mission of Dissidentby paradoxically is to make the organization redundant, meaning that all political prisoners should be released. This is an extremely difficult task influenced by many factors. The release of individual political prisoners will not solve the problem until the conveyor belt of violence is stopped, Vyacheslav believes.
— According to our data, three to four people face repression every day under criminal articles alone. This is systematic political terror. If it is not stopped, there is no point in negotiating the release of individual people. Such a solution can only be political, achieved through agreement and/or pressure.
The Kosinerovs consider it important that political forces, when proposing various solutions to the problem of political prisoners, rely on the expertise of human rights organizations.
— When we participated in the Coordination Council hearings, politicians were wide-eyed at the facts we presented. It’s strange when people talk about political prisoners and often have no idea what is happening in this area. Any steps taken by political actors must be supported by our expertise to make decisions on how to release political prisoners.
Politzek.me collects and provides current information about the situation of political prisoners in Belarus to both Belarusian and international media, conducts public advocacy on its website, social networks, and at offline events. According to the head of the organization, Inna Kovalenok, their team saw the need to convey information about detainees to a large number of people, not just those who traditionally followed human rights channels. To keep the issue of political prisoners on the agenda, Politzek.me was created.
— Although most news about political prisoners is negative, you can’t just close yourself off from the problem. Our approach is that the problem exists as long as it is talked about. And only when it is talked about can a solution be found.
The organization also supports the families of prisoners. Recently, Politzek.me launched a feature for subscription-based targeted donations, which are sent to relatives. As Inna notes, for some, a monthly subscription means subscribing once and not worrying about how to help anymore.
— The cost of one parcel can be 300, 400, 500 euros. That’s an entire salary. Paying for lawyer visits is also not cheap – 150-200 euros. Families bear huge expenses. For some, one family member being in prison means the family income has decreased. The issue of targeted assistance will be relevant as long as people are imprisoned. If someone thinks that nothing is needed anymore, believe me, it is still needed.
Recently, Politzek.me released T-shirts created in collaboration with Belarusian artist Karolina Polyakova. They can be ordered on the website and social networks of the project.
— Beautiful T-shirts with a good message, 30% of the sales go to support political prisoners. Wear the T-shirts and tell the whole world about the beautiful mosaic on your chest!
According to Inna, it has become more challenging to tell stories now. The hunt for people does not stop, but the initiative finds new ways to interact. Although absolute safety cannot be guaranteed, there are ways to reduce risks.
— If you are abroad, do not use Belarusian and Russian cards for donations. From within Belarus, you cannot donate. You can find other ways – friends, acquaintances abroad. It just complicates the path of help.
Inna admits that every time she communicates with relatives and publishes articles, she feels the weight. However, realizing the importance of support and highlighting the problem of political prisoners gives her the strength to continue her work. Even anonymous information becomes immensely valuable for the families of political prisoners.
— You start listening to people’s stories and feel how important it is for them to tell their story, how it supports them to be heard.
People often prefer to avoid negative news, believing that the situation cannot be changed. However, experiencing these stories helps to move forward, Inna believes.
— The most upset are those who cannot find a way to transform negative emotions into action or give them meaning. You can do the simplest thing. It’s not necessary to donate money – you can publish a post or pass information through friends. It is important to understand how crucial these actions are for a country endlessly in repression. If you give it meaning, it becomes much easier to interact. This is our way of living through all this.
According to Politzek.me, there are 1,559 political prisoners in Belarus, 190 of whom are women. Since early 2020, more than 400 people have been sentenced to terms of five years or more. According to various sources, between 6,000 and 11,000 criminal cases have been initiated. The total number of political prisoners does not change significantly, as the authorities constantly initiate new criminal cases. There is a trend of issuing suspended sentences instead of sending people to colonies, which seems like a milder option. Nevertheless, Inna notes, political prisoners should not have been subjected to any persecution at all. «Home chemistry» (house arrest) still constitutes a significant violation of freedom.
— Behind the statistics are real people. All detainees have relatives. The number of Belarusians affected by the repressions reaches tens and hundreds of thousands. The lives of a huge number of people have changed.
In the colony, many political prisoners are deprived of the opportunity to maintain contact through correspondence. They are also deprived of proper medical care. If someone falls ill with a cold or bronchitis, there is no guarantee that they will survive. Inna talks about the stories of political prisoners who are forced to work in conditions of increased noise and bright lighting, at sewing machines, stitching pockets and collars. Such conditions irreversibly harm the health of prisoners.
— Everyone knows that prison is not a sanatorium. It is important for us to say that this is not a problem of the past. It is happening today. Any action we take that eases the imprisonment of political prisoners even by 1% is a hundred times more valuable. This is our way of resistance.
A year has passed without any news from Nikolai Statkevich, Maria Kolesnikova, Sergei Tikhanovsky, Viktor Babariko, and other political prisoners. International law categorically prohibits keeping prisoners incommunicado – without contact with the outside world. The regime’s goal, Inna continues, is for people to forget about political prisoners. Additionally, isolation is a serious tool of psychological pressure, as it artificially creates the feeling that the political prisoner has been forgotten.
— The authorities say that there are no letters not because of censorship, but because no one remembers you and they have all forgotten. Even if common sense does not allow you to believe such information about your loved ones, over time isolation affects prisoners. Because there are physically no letters and no attention. There is little prospect of being released early. This has a very serious impact on the psychological state. The prisoner has no control over their daily routine. The only thing left is their inner strength. That is why acts of support are so important, they lift the spirit.
There is always more that can be done, Inna says, starting with oneself and ending with entire governments.
— First and foremost, it is important for Belarusians themselves to promote the issue of political prisoners. Then the international community picks up on this issue. As soon as we start talking about political prisoners loudly, the world will pay attention. This is the task of both activists and politicians.
For example, Belarusians can call on the governments of the countries where they live to take action. Belarusians can inform local authorities or simply help a former political prisoner with relocation. Inna believes it is important to hold solidarity actions and engage with local politicians.
— For many Belarusians, this may be unusual, but deputies are ready to work with citizen appeals. If you ask them to pay attention to political prisoners, they will do so. Sometimes such work can be frustrating, so it is better to do it together. The more such small steps, the greater the effect they will have, like a drop in the ocean.
Politzek.me has a clear and open position on the strategy for the release of political prisoners. The initiative considers the release of even one prisoner a success.
— Every life is valuable. The release of all is a common goal that no one questions. However, we must fight for every person who can be released through diplomatic means or negotiations. We need to properly assess the complexity of the situation. Being in prison for five years or more causes major health problems, with a high risk of death. There is no high price for a human life.
Inna notes that public discussion often shifts to issues of sanctions and negotiations. In her opinion, discussions related to the cost of this process should not distract from the main task. To succeed in such a sensitive and important issue, it will be necessary to engage with the authorities and negotiate:
— Perhaps we also need to realize that the keys to the prison are held by people with whom we would not go for a beer. But what can we do if we want to get people out? We need to talk.
Lately, news about political prisoners has been more bad than good. Prisoners die in prisons, and many have long been out of contact. Inna often hears that nothing can be done. Many people have the impression that there are no tools to influence the problem:
— One of the reasons we continue to work is to prove the opposite. In fact, everything is possible. You can change the lives of specific people by sending a parcel, donating, writing a letter – today this is an invaluable action. If we become indifferent to the tragedy of political prisoners, we can forget about other global security issues.
The volunteer project «Palitvyazynka» was created by Yevgenia Dolga to tell about the conditions of detention of political prisoners in women’s prisons in Belarus.
According to Yevgenia, the main task of «Palitvyazynka» is to inform society through supporting confidential contacts with relatives of political prisoners. The initiative strives to establish direct contact, as this is the safest and simplest way of communication. In addition, «Palitvyazynka» provides assistance in sending parcels to imprisoned women. The project accepts donations through PayPal and Patreon systems, and each request is unique and financed solely through donations.
— For example, there was a case when they asked for compression tights and stockings to maintain normal blood circulation. These are special expensive tights. Therefore, any help is collected for a specific request.
Yevgenia notes that she herself was detained and faced harsh prison conditions from the inside.
— It is important for me to show a different type of serving time. The same expenses for tampons and pads are a significant burden on the family. Due to physiological characteristics, women have different conditions. It is important for me to show a colony where women even in frost go out in dresses, without pants. How women clean the territory of the colony, how they are physically and morally exhausted. It is important for me to show this different experience, and for everyone it is monstrous.
According to the activist, there are about 190 Belarusian women in political detention. Not all women in prison are well-known personalities. Sometimes women are released and talk about other prisoners that no one knows about, Yevgenia continues.
— The situation with political prisoners is terrible. I constantly traumatize myself because every day I encounter terrible stories through me. Recently there was news about Maria Kolesnikova. She does not leave the disciplinary isolation and has big health problems. Several people wrote about it, and it is unclear whether it is true or not.
According to Yevgenia, this winter has been tough in the women’s colony with a lot of snow and rain. From 5:30 in the morning, women are forced to clear snow and chop ice in thin clothing, because according to the regulations they are not allowed to wear pants. Such conditions have a devastating effect on health.
— Women there reason like this: ‘She has already resigned herself that she will never have children, because everything has frostbite’ or ‘She will most likely come out disabled, but the main thing is that she will come out alive’.
Every woman experiences imprisonment differently, but the impact remains heavy on everyone. A Belarusian woman in prison constantly feels guilt, says Evgenia.
— A prisoner feels guilty towards their children. When Daria Losik was imprisoned, there were many comments like «Why didn’t she think about her daughter?» Although when Igor Losik was imprisoned, there were no such comments. In a recent interview, Olga Loiko said that her father died while she was in prison. Many parents die. Some women cannot forgive themselves because their mother or father got sick and died because of them. This is a very difficult mental state.
According to Evgenia, political prisoners sit together with those convicted under real criminal articles, and this is also a strong stress factor.
— Some women are left with just a shell after a long time in prison. In ordinary life, we do not encounter such people, but there we have to find common ground and survive. They are told that nobody thinks about them and that no one needs them. I think a lot of rehabilitation will be needed.
Evgenia considers her experience insignificant compared to what girls are going through now. At the same time, it took her only three days to realize all the cruelties of imprisonment:
— It’s like in rape – they’ve decided for you. There you are nobody. I have seen dehumanization twice in my life: in prison and when the war in Ukraine started. Our political prisoners see this every day and are disappointed in our world.
Volunteering has always been a part of Evgenia’s life, so she decided that «Palitvyazynka» is her way to somehow change the situation:
– My friends are sitting there: Nasta Loika, Marfa Rabkova, Ekaterina Andreeva. I know all of them. I realized that when I do something, I somehow control it. I decided for myself that I would try to continue supporting the prisoners in any case. I don’t know, maybe something terrible awaits me for this, but I will try to continue supporting the prisoners.
Evgenia often thinks about what else can be done in our difficult situation. She agrees with Olga Loiko’s opinion, who said in an interview on the «TOK» YouTube channel that people are not ready to sit for 10 years.
– There are few people like Nikolai Statkevich, who are willing to sit for a long time. He is a rock of a man, although, of course, he doesn’t want to be there. In Latvia and Lithuania, many Belarusian spies are detained, who are a potential exchange resource. The release of anyone could have been a condition for Belarus’s participation in sports games. Israel, the Vatican, and Poland are capable of influencing the regime.
– Belarusians have different views. Many are not ready to accept that political prisoners write for clemency and wait for it. This is a survival strategy. Our big mistake is that we romanticized and heroized the prison for a long time. This couldn’t be done, because when you heroize a person, you think, «just a little more and he/she will endure it». This «little more» never comes. A Belarusian prison is a place where you are destroyed morally and physically.
Text: Herman Zabaronak. Photo: Alisa Hanchar
The special project «Survivors» documents the state of Belarusian civil society organizations (CSOs) in the year 2024.