Good afternoon!
I cannot give my name (BYSOL confirms the personal data of the hero), because I live with my family in Belarus. But even without names, I hope that my story will be understandable to many people who know about repressions in Belarus and will touch their hearts.
Until 2020, my participation in the political life of the country was modest. I went to the elections, hoping that my vote would change something, but I didn't believe in changes. And in 2020, everything changed!
On August 10, 2020, I saw peaceful people in my hometown being beaten and shot at. There was no limit to my outrage! I joined the protesters and got into a confrontation with the police.
The next day I was walking home from work. Five people came up to me, pushed me into a car and knocked out my phone password with a stun gun. I managed to break my phone, so they didn't need the password. Then they took me to the ROVD, where they continued to beat and abuse me. I spent three days in the TDF in an overcrowded cell, beaten. After that I could not walk for 2 weeks (ligaments on my right leg were damaged), and for some time I was afraid of persecution. Nowhere in the public domain I could not find myself in photos or videos. Month after month went by. I was reassured that I had already been forgotten.
Repression in the country intensified, the protest movement left the streets. At that time we found out that we were expecting another child, and I returned to my normal life. Six months after the election, I was searched at my place of residence registration, where I do not live. That was the first call. But I decided not to leave, I could not leave my pregnant wife and children. And, frankly speaking, I did not think that everything would end with a real sentence! However, not even two months later, they came for me. They arrested me in front of my shocked relatives and sent me to a pre-trial detention center. Six months later, the court sentenced me to 3 years in prison, despite the fact that my wife and I had two small children and a third was born during my imprisonment.
Because of the political article under which I was convicted, the colony staff treated me with prejudice, picked on every trifle and constantly drew up protocols on violations. According to these protocols, I was constantly sent to the SHIZO*. This is a separate kind of torture of a prisoner. In a SHIZO cell you are alone, deprived of parcels and letters, the bunks are fastened, the light is always on, there is only a concrete table and a bench. It's unbearable to be there. In the winter, the windows in my cell were left open on purpose. The cold inside that concrete bag was so hellish that I thought I would never get out alive.
In the spring of 2024 I was released. But my life became free partially because I was assigned 2 more years of preventive supervision**. It's usually given to people who've been convicted of serious crimes. But now they're giving it to political offenders. I am forbidden to leave the city, every Sunday I have to report to the IAB, and several times a week a checkup comes to my house.
Now my wife and I are raising our children together and building a house. My wife has only recently been able to find a job after maternity leave, and I work a little part-time. But our income is very modest. Most of it is spent on the construction of the house, which we started building before 2020. In addition, while I was in the colony, my wife had to take out a loan to pay for the apartment, take care of the children, even help me. At that difficult time, this loan helped us a lot. And now rent and credit take away the lion's share of our small income.
We will be grateful to you for your help to pay off the loan. We dream to finish our house soon, to organize our life and not to live in need anymore.
*A SHIZO (punitive isolation cell) is a place for prisoners where conditions are much harsher than usual. Prisoners in SHIZO are deprived of many privileges such as transfers, visits and walks, and are often subjected to increased physical and psychological pressure.
**Preventive supervision is a control measure applied to people after their release. It includes regular checks by police officers, prohibition to participate in certain activities, prohibition to leave the country and city, obligation to report changes of residence and employment. Additional restrictions may be imposed.
How much is needed?
€2000
€1300 — 6 months rent (€220/month) (I hope that in 6 months we will have the house ready and start to move in slowly).
€700 to pay off the loan (the loan was taken out by my wife to support the family while I was serving my sentence).