{"id":492118,"date":"2024-09-24T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=492118"},"modified":"2025-10-20T21:08:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T18:08:05","slug":"onion-is-tasty-political-prisoners-work-on-an-onion-plantation-owned-by-afd-mp-jorg-dornau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/onion-is-tasty-political-prisoners-work-on-an-onion-plantation-owned-by-afd-mp-jorg-dornau","title":{"rendered":"\u00abOnion is tasty\u00bb. Political prisoners work on an onion plantation owned by AfD MP J\u00f6rg Dornau"},"content":{"rendered":"
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German businessman and member of the populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), <\/span>J\u00f6rg Dornau<\/b>, signed an agreement with the Lida \u00abCenter for the Isolation of Offenders\u00bb (CIO) and regularly employed Belarusians convicted on political charges to work on his onion plantation near Lida. They were paid around 5 euros per day. As Reform.news found out, the German politician personally inspected the work of political prisoners.<\/span><\/p>\n

We found one of those \u00abpoliticals\u00bb who sorted onions for J\u00f6rg Dornau at the \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb company. His name is <\/span>Andrei <\/b>(name changed). He is not the only one who was sent from the CIO to do agricultural work, but he was the only one willing to share his story with Reform.news.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A prisoner in the Lida CIO. Drawing by Evgeny Lukashevich from the website spring96.org<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00abOnion is tasty\u00bb<\/b><\/h2>\n

Andrei was detained in February 2024. He was sentenced to 15 days in the CIO for liking a post on social media. Andrei describes the working conditions as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 They took us to a warehouse. February, basement, everyone had different clothing. So, our hands and feet were freezing. Breakfast was at 7:00 AM. We worked until 6:00 PM without food or drink. The onion is tasty.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Andrei says that a contract was signed between \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb and the Lida CIO. He notes that the work was not forced. The money earned was meant to cover the costs of being held at the CIO.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 We signed consent for the work every day. If the foreman thought a detainee was working well, he would be paid. The Lida CIO was paid 30 rubles, the detainees around 20. The onions were sorted for the ‘Evroopt’ trading network.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When asked if he had heard anything about the German farmer, Andrei replies:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 I even saw him! Tall, bald man. He came once in his car with German registration. He went into the warehouse where we were sorting onions along with hired workers.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Looking at a photo of J\u00f6rg Dornau, Andrei responds:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Looks like him!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Who is J\u00f6rg Dornau?<\/b><\/h2>\n

J\u00f6rg Dornau <\/span>was born<\/span><\/a> in Borna, Saxony. He is 53 years old, has an agricultural education, and is engaged in entrepreneurial activities. In 2016, Dornau joined the far-right pro-Russian party \u00abAlternative for Germany\u00bb (AfD). Since 2019, he has been a member of the Saxon parliament, representing the AfD parliamentary group on agricultural policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dornau was also a member of the extremist radical faction of the AfD known as \u00abThe Wing\u00bb.<\/span><\/p>\n

The German politician made headlines in national German media after it was revealed that he owns the agricultural enterprise \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb LLC in Belarus. His farm cultivates onions and other vegetables on several hundred hectares in the Lida district. While conducting business is not prohibited for members of parliament under Saxon parliamentary law, J\u00f6rg Dornau concealed his business in Belarus, thus violating his reporting obligations. As a result, in August 2024, the Saxon parliament fined him 20,862 euros.<\/span><\/p>\n

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J\u00f6rg Dornau and his partner Yuri Kunitsky at a meeting with the head of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Karanik. September 2020. Photo: Lidskaya Gazeta<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb<\/b><\/h2>\n

In Belarus, the German businessman often appeared in state-run Belarusian media, met with high-ranking officials, and enjoyed the patronage of the authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

He registered his company, LLC \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb, in October 2020 in the village of Gudy in the Lida district of the Grodno region. This was precisely when <\/span>Alexander Lukashenko<\/b>, with the help of his security forces, was suppressing mass protests against the falsification of the presidential election.<\/span><\/p>\n

By decisions of the Lida district executive committee, land plots with a total area of 1,555.4 hectares from the RUP “Sovkhoz Lidskiy” were gradually transferred to \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb for permanent use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00abJ\u00f6rg Dornau is the leading specialist in onion cultivation in Germany. Within three years, agrarians from Leipzig expect to produce more than 10,000 tons of onions annually. This means that approximately every fifth onion grown in our country will be from Lida<\/span><\/i>\u00bb, <\/span>boasted<\/span><\/a> the newspaper of Lukashenko’s administration, \u00abSB. Belarus Today\u00bb, in July 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project\u2019s cost, according to the deputy chairman of the Lida district executive committee, <\/span>Igor Kvasovka<\/b>, <\/span>was estimated<\/span><\/a> at between 4.7 and 6 million rubles (\u20ac1,410,000 and \u20ac1,800,000).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00abIn addition to vegetable cultivation and processing, the investor plans to create a full-fledged logistics complex for the storage and processing of products. Forty-five new jobs will be created\u00bb<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> the state-run \u00abLidskaya Gazeta\u00bb in January 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

It sounds promising, doesn’t it? New jobs!<\/span><\/p>\n

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A prisoner in the Lida CIO. Drawing by Evgeny Lukashevich from the website spring96.org<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition, \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb participated in government procurement procedures. From 2022 to 2024, J\u00f6rg Dornau\u2019s company provided the state with soil liming services for acidic soils three times. The total cost of these services <\/span>amounted<\/span><\/a> to 70,992 Belarusian rubles.<\/span><\/p>\n

It would have been extremely difficult for J\u00f6rg, without knowledge of the language and necessary connections, to run a business in Belarus. He has a partner, businessman <\/span>Yurij Kunitski<\/b>, who <\/span>lives<\/span><\/a> in Germany. German press materials <\/span>describe<\/span><\/a> him as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00ab…has been working for many years for the Russian and Belarusian propaganda apparatus, and whose credit reports state: Business relations are not recommended\u00bb.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This did not prevent him from entering into a joint business with Dornau: 50% of \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb is owned by Kunitski. From December 2020 to November 2023, he was also the company\u2019s director, only later handing the position over to Dornau.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an article from the \u00abLidskaya Gazeta\u00bb dated March 31, 2021, Yurij Kunitski stated that the process of land allocation was being carried out in accordance with existing legislation. <\/span>\u00abThe staffing issue is also being addressed. The team is gradually growing. At present, we are recruiting machine operators to carry out the work. Overall, the company plans to employ up to 50 people, including seasonal workers\u00bb<\/span><\/i> the newspaper <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00abTaking this opportunity, I would like to thank the district and regional leadership for their trust. We were given the green light\u00bb Kunitski said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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J\u00f6rg Dornau and his partner Yuri Kunitsky at a meeting with the head of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Karanik. September 2020. Photo: Lidskaya Gazeta<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00abSeasonal\u00bb Workers<\/b><\/h2>\n

As we can see, J\u00f6rg Dornau took a rather unconventional approach to solving the staffing issue at \u00abCybulka-Bel\u00bb. He personally inspected the work of Belarusian political prisoners. The German politician knew about and signed documents regarding the \u00abservices\u00bb provided by an institution where Belarusians are deliberately tortured. <\/span><\/p>\n

During his visit to Belarus, Dornau <\/span>remarked<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Germany is missing out on economic opportunities in a country located at the heart of the new ‘Silk Road,’ serving as a kind of bridge to the Eurasian Economic Union with its more than 180 million consumer population.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dornau chose not to miss out on the chance for economic cooperation with the country at the heart of the Silk Road and took advantage of the services provided by the Lida \u00abCenter for the Isolation of Offenders\u00bb.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a reminder, <\/span>special conditions are created for \u00abpoliticals\u00bb<\/span><\/a> in detention cells: mattresses, pillows, and bedding are taken away. It is forbidden to sit or lie on the beds. Detainees are deprived of all packages. The light in the cell is on 24\/7, and they are woken up several times at night. Most cells do not have toilets or sinks \u2014 only a plastic bucket in the corner, which must be emptied into a shared restroom in the hallway each morning.<\/span> Our interviewee Andrei calls these conditions torturous.<\/span><\/mark><\/p>\n

In modern Belarus, it is impossible to punish those who exploit the lack of rights of Belarusians. Therefore, the Reform.news team hopes that German society can convey to J\u00f6rg Dornau the ethical concerns surrounding the practice of using political prisoners as labor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reform.news requested comments from J\u00f6rg Dornau, but as of the time of publication, we have not received a response.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A prisoner in the Lida CIO. Drawing by Evgeny Lukashevich from the website spring96.org<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n