After his release, a former political prisoner left Belarus for Poland. With a Group 3 disability, his health seriously deteriorated while in detention, and now, due to problems with his documents, he is deprived of basic assistance and health insurance and needs support while he recovers, obtains protection, and starts working.
I am Alexander Sezen, I am 56 years old, and I am from Vawkavysk. I lived in Belarus all my life, working my way from a mechanic to the director of a trading company. I always defended the rights of other people and my own. In 2020, I took part in protests against election fraud. I was detained under the “people’s” Article 23.34 and served “administrative days.” Later, a criminal case was opened against me, and in November 2024 I was harshly detained, tried by the Grodno Regional Court, and in June 2025 sentenced under Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code.
Even before prison, I had a lifelong Group 3 disability, with which I spent a total of 25 days in a punishment cell: in a cold cell, on concrete, in unsanitary conditions, with humiliation, constant pressure… In winter, in freezing temperatures, I had no winter shoes. I walked in summer work shoes that froze completely through. In the correctional facility, I was deprived of normal care packages. During all that time, I received no vitamins or medication. Such conditions are hard for a healthy person, but for a person with a disability and health problems, they simply destroy the body.
I was unable to perform heavy physical labor even before my detention, and after the correctional facility my condition became much worse: my joints were chilled, and problems with my legs and knees worsened. If in ordinary life I could more or less manage: proper shoes, warmth, a predictable routine, the opportunity to take care of myself, then after the punishment cell, the cold, and working in freezing temperatures, I sometimes genuinely can barely walk.
On March 20, 2026, I was released, but remained under preventive supervision. It was clear that a small cell had simply been replaced by a larger one. It soon became clear that staying in Belarus meant ending up behind bars again, and that with my health. Therefore, at the beginning of summer 2026, I left for Poland and applied for international protection. I currently have a temporary document while the procedure is ongoing.
I don't have stable work at the moment. My health does not allow me to work as a loader or on a construction site, while other work requires documents, language skills, equipment, time, and recovery. And there is also rent and utilities, as well as basic necessities. I eat whatever is distributed at humanitarian aid points.
To live a reasonably full life and somehow work, I need knee braces with metal plates to reduce the strain on my legs. A traumatologist prescribed therapeutic physical exercises: I need exercises and rehabilitation, medication, ointments, pills, and medical examinations. I also have hypertension, breathing problems, and problems with my eyesight and teeth. I need medical examinations; I cannot simply put my health on hold and pretend that there are no problems.
I ask you to support me during this most difficult period, so that I can pay for housing, undergo medical examinations, buy medication and necessary things, recover, and find work that I will be able to do given my health condition.
Дзякуй усім. Жыве Беларусь!
Fundraising goal
€2300
€1000 – housing and utility expenses
€500 – food, basic necessities, clothing
€800 – medication, medical examinations, knee braces, therapeutic physical exercises and rehabilitation