The chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Oleg Gulak

, talks about these results of 2022

.

Briefly

  • In part, the increase in political prisoners in 2022 was due to their previous actions, it was not a reaction to what is happening now.

  • The authorities understand that without continuing the repression, society may forget that there is something to be afraid of.

  • As Lukashenko once said that "sometimes laws are not up to the mark", this principle is still valid today.

  • We cannot always estimate the scale of repression: often people are afraid that the publicity about their persecution may harm them.

  • The specificity of 2022 is that we are no longer surprised by anything.

  • I think that, unfortunately, in 2023, the number of political prisoners will grow, despite the fact that 250-300 people will be released after the expiration of their sentences.

— According to data from human rights activists "Viasny", on December 30, 2021, there were 970 political prisoners in Belarus.

As of December 12, 2022, there were 1,437 of them. What were the features of political persecution this year, did it differ in any way from last year?

Oleg Gulak

— The number of political prisoners is not the only indicator characterizing the situation with human rights and political persecution.

Numbers sometimes reflect the continuation or completion of processes that started earlier, and so it is now.

The numbers do not give an understanding of what terms people are imprisoned for, in what conditions they are kept.

During the year, there were hopes for some softening of the repressive policy.

But in general, the situation was the same as last year.

In part, the increase in the number of political prisoners occurred because of previous actions or was a stage of the criminal investigation, which was started, again, not this year.

Last year's pace of repression was maintained in 2022, despite the fact that there are no new mass and long-lasting protests.

This means that repression is not a reaction to what is happening now.

But the car is running, it needs "fuel" and it finds it.

Those who were not involved in 2020 and 2021 were put behind bars in 2022.

There is a question why this car does not stop.

Or is it inertia, a desire to demonstrate to management that it is necessary, capable and loyal.

Or do they understand that without continuing the repression, society will begin to forget that it is necessary to be afraid.

I think both factors were at work.

We saw purges in the system itself — in the state apparatus, in the law enforcement agencies.

This continued this year.

The system gets rid of those who signed up for alternative presidential candidates in 2020, wrote disloyal comments on social networks, etc.

True, this year we saw that this work regarding doctors, employees of the health care system, failed - we cleaned it up so much that we saw that there was no one to work.

And they saved a little turnover of cleansing from the disloyal.

- According to human rights activists, more than 900 people were detained for participating in anti-war protests on the day of the constitutional referendum on February 27.

It seems that this was new, something that did not exist in 2021.

There was no war then.

In addition, "rail partisans".

One of them was even shot in the knees during detention.

As far as I know, there have been cases for anti-war actions and even social media posts.

Perhaps this form of persecution was not as massive as in Russia, which is waging this war, but there were similar cases in Belarus as well.

- Yes, this is no longer an echo of 2020.

These are new protests.

But the government reacts to them in the same way as before.

And the fact that this year they shot at the knees, in 2020 they shot at defeat - in the chest or in the head.

- A separate issue is legal novellas, new laws that make anti-extremist legislation more repressive.

The most recent one, which has not yet been adopted, is the death penalty for officials and military personnel for "treason against the state".

And what are the most important new repressive laws passed this year?

- New repressive laws were adopted this year, and new practices of persecution were introduced.

As Lukashenko once said that "sometimes laws are not up to the mark", this principle is still valid today.

As for the new laws, new categories of crimes have been introduced that are subject to the highest penalty.

Now the authorities are taking steps that directly contradict international law.

According to him, the death penalty can be used only for the most serious crimes that harm people's health and life.

The composition of the crime of "treason" is in no way directly related to the threat to life.

It is also possible to mention projects of deprivation of citizenship and absentee trials.

The first absentee trials have already begun.

Defendants do not participate in these absentee trials.

They are given a lawyer, and he defends their interests at the trial.

This is just a mockery of justice.

The practical purpose of these innovations is to take away the property of those who cannot be obtained.

- Even last year, the practice of interpreting the content of certain media and other information sources as "extremist materials" and some media and sources as "extremist formations" began.

And if a person has anything to do with it, even by giving an interview and reading these forbidden information sources, he can already be seen and often is seen as a criminal.

Military analyst Yahor Lebyadok and the wife of political prisoner Daria Losik were prosecuted for an interview with such media.

There are known cases when people are prosecuted when subscriptions to prohibited Telegram channels are found in their phone.

How widespread has this practice become this year?

- This practice is actively used.

And I'm afraid we can't always appreciate its scale.

Indeed, detainees are found to have subscriptions to "extremist" channels in their phones and are held accountable for it.

But detainees and their relatives do not always talk about it.

People are afraid that spreading information about this will make their situation worse.

Scientist Garanin, who recently served a sentence in very difficult conditions, said that a man was sitting with him who was convicted for reposting a message on a social network.

Moreover, this repost was made several years ago.

The specificity of 2022 is that we are no longer surprised by anything.

Sometimes it is even difficult to determine whether a message about another barbarism is cruel banter, hyperbole, exaggeration, or a dry description of a new phase of repression;

is it a parody or another "broken bottom".

- During this year, two political prisoners were released, achieved through diplomatic negotiations with Lukashenka's regime - Swiss citizen Natalya Hershe and Svoboda journalist Oleg Gruzdzilovich.

Some political prisoners were released at the end of their terms.

In September, there were hints that some of the political prisoners could be released under amnesty.

Apparently, negotiations were held with the West regarding the release of some political prisoners in exchange for the easing of sanctions.

Negotiations were fruitless, political prisoners remained behind bars.

In your opinion, can the West engage in such trade, or should it engage in it?

- This is a difficult question.

The fate of political prisoners is constant pain, they suffer for nothing.

And there is a moral obligation to help them.

But the problem is that there are practically no tools for this.

I cannot agree with the offers to ransom political prisoners, it is not serious.

If only because the ransom can be offered for what is ready to sell.

It is not obvious that there is such a readiness.

We have a situation today that is different from those that existed before.

The problem of the release of political prisoners in Belarus did not arise for the first time.

In the past, political prisoners were released when the interests of the parties in the process were compatible.

There has been much debate over how far sanctions have helped free political prisoners in the past.

Sanctions were a tool in the process of finding an agreement.

Different sides had their trump cards in this game.

But there has never been such a large number of political prisoners.

An important motive for the regime is to save face.

The regime warns that if it releases such a large number of political prisoners - 1,500 - it will lose its power based on fear.

In addition, in previous periods, when political prisoners were released, there was no doubt about Lukashenka's legitimacy as president.

Now the European Union does not recognize him as a legitimate president.

And this is also a factor of the situation.

— What is your forecast for 2023 in the field of human rights?

At the beginning of 2024, parliamentary and local elections will be held, and the All-Belarusian People's Assembly will be formed.

Could it be preceded by some relaxations?

— I think that, unfortunately, the number of political prisoners will grow over the next year.

At least as a result of the fact that those cases that are already open or ongoing will be completed.

They will not be lowered on the brakes.

Approximately 250-300 political prisoners will have their prison terms completed in 2023.

As for the elections, these are not presidential elections: there is no problem of external legitimacy in local and parliamentary elections.

Therefore, from the point of view of the authorities, there is no need for any relaxations.

If Belarus plunges into the war in Ukraine with its troops, the issue of political prisoners will be relegated to the background by the more acute issue of direct participation in aggression.

If Russia is weakened as a result of the war, it will be an incentive to improve relations with the West.

And then there will be motivation for the release of political prisoners.

- One of the few positive events in the human rights sphere of Belarus this year was the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to human rights defender Ales Bialiatskyi.

He received this award together with human rights centers of Ukraine and Russia.

But even this good news is bittersweet.

Bialiatski received the award while behind bars, where he remains.

What will be the social and political echo of this award to Bialiatsky in Belarus and in the world?

- I hope that this award will help Ales himself, at least in the sense of moral support.

It is important that this is an award to human rights defenders of three countries, it raises this problem on a global scale and in Belarus.

  • Yuri Drakakhrust

    Radio Svaboda journalist


    drakakhrusty@rferl.org

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