Hi everyone! Today is Sunday, 16 of October and we continue our weekly podcast “Trends of order and chaos” This is episode 76. So, what we saw and thought about this week?
On 6 September Minsk City Court pronounced the verdict in the criminal case of the so-called "international criminal group". There are 14 anarchists and libertarians, four of whom have left Belarus.
The worst thing Putin has done in Ukraine is to reconcile the authorities with the people. The president has turned from an object of universal criticism into the Ukrainian Charles de Gaulle.1 The general of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry offers to deliver himself to the Russian army in exchange for the release of civilians from the besieged city and becomes a national hero. The entire population of Ukraine, from the homeless to the oligarch, unites in a common struggle.
This time around there's both good news and bad news, so lets start with the good ones.
Maxim ”Hadad” Smolnikov released from remand in custody
For over three months, people in Belarus have been fighting against the authoritarian regime. In 26 years, dictator Lukashenko has built a system aimed at suppressing any political life. The coronavirus and a number of economic problems have greatly changed what is happening in the country. In a few months, Belarusians have learned to self-organize. The presidential elections provoked a wave of the largest protest in the country's history! But the tyrant does not want to give up his throne. At least 5 people were killed (some died under strange circumstances).
October 11, the city court of Baranovichi, Belarus, sentenced Russian anarchist Pyotr Ryabov. Petr, an anarchist philosopher and a lecturer of the department of Philosophy in the Moscow State Pedagogical University was sentenced to 6 days of prison for "minor hooliganism" and "distribution of extremist materials" (statutes 17.1 and 17.11 of the Codex of misdemeanors of Belarus). The court has declared the Belarusian anarchist journal "Svoboda ili Smert issue 6" (published in 2007) an extremist material.
Today in three major cities of Belarus – Minsk, Mogilev and Grodno – people took the streets protesting against government attempts to collect tax off the unemployed (details of the story HERE). In Minsk, demonstrations managed to gather more that 1 500 people, in Mogilev and Grodno 1 000 each. These are the biggest protests those cities have seen in decades.
Between 1st and 10th of July, international days of solidarity for political prisoners of Putin's police state took place in 22 cities of 10 different countries.
The topic of prison caste system is often raised in the media in recent times, it is often discussed in connection with the political prisoners. However, almost all who write on the subject, know about it at best from the stories of former inmates or use common social stereotypes. As a result, there are often a lot of blunders and false representation.
The aim of this article is to illuminate some aspects of this complex and multifaceted phenomenon the informal hierarchy in Belarus prisons.
Mikalai Dziadok protested against tortures by prison staff.
Viasna human rights centre learnt it from Valeria Khotsina, the wife of the political prisoner.
Mikalai Dziadok was transferred to correctional facility No.9 in Horki for his new prison term on May 12. On May 13, he was thrown into a punishment cell for five days. On May 19, he was transferred to a solitary confinement cell. Mikalai Dziadok spent the night in a very cold cell and asked to be transferred to another cell.
The forth presidential term of Alexander Lukashenko will expire in 2015. In 21 years Lukashenko has managed to suppress almost all social struggles in the country, kill several political opponents in the 90s, and eradicate nearly all of the official opposition. Lukashenko didn’t allow Belarusian society to transcend the limits of Soviet mentality. Any complaint or criticism of the government are met with repression from the police or the KGB. Any attempts of organizing face with prosecution and hysteria from the state.
On November 20 Mikalai Dziadok was charged with malicious disobedience to the demands of prison administration (art.411). This became known from a state lawyer, who had been called to attend the procedure. The case was started on November 13. In the near future the anarchist will be transferred to the pre-trial detention centre as a defendant.
Before that Dziadok had spent 8 days in a punishment cell, and was transferred to the solitary confinement.
On 3 July Dzmitry Rezanovich was fined with 15 000 russian rubles and deportation from Russia. It is still unclear for how long it will be forbidden for Dzmitry to enter the russian territory.
The deportation date was not announced yet and some sources point that it is possible only after the fine will be payed. The relatives already got papers to do so.
We would like to thank everyone who supported Dzmitry financially and morally.
ABC-Belarus
Several hours left before the official start of the World Hockey Championship 2014 in Belarus. Event that was planned in 2009 during another political thaw between the West and Lukashenko was constantly criticized by human rights and political organizations for support of Lukashenko’s political regime. Many groups called national hockey teams to boycott the championship, however International Federation of Ice Hockey decided once again that sport is standing apart from politics and retained the right for hosting championship in Minsk.
Yauhen Vas’kovich spent 10 days in a punishment cell at the beginning of August. He regularly writes and calls his mother. The prisoner prefers not to have a lawyer, because he thinks it is pointless. The next date with relatives is planned on January.
He will be under police supervision for 6 months after the release.
Aliaksandr Frantskevich, who served his term in correctional colony No. 22 in Ivatsevichy, was released early in the morningof 3rd of September. His mother and activists of opposition organisation met him outside the prison. He will go to Navapolatsk to register with the police.
Dmitri Zvanko – is anti-fascist from Brest. He was arrested 9th of May 2013, as one of 5 anti-fascists who were suspected of a fight with far-right activists the day before. Arrested anti-fascists were beaten up and put under psychological pressure, Dmitri failed a complaint on his treatment although he was pressured not to do so. 19th of May four of the arrested were released, but Dmitri was charged with statute 339.3 of the Belarusian criminal codex (malicious hooliganism with a group of people), which carries a prison sentence from 3 to 10 years.
Two new shortfilms with subtitles in English, dedicated to Belarusian anarchists political prisoners have been released on Belarusian series "Chronicles of the times of courts", one is dedicated to Ihar Alinevich, and another to Mikalaj Dziadok. Ihar was kidnapped in Moscow by plain-clothes Belarusian officials in Moscow 28th of November 2010, and only several days later it was revealed that he was in remand prison of Belarusian KGB in Minsk.
We’re glad to announce that after 620 days in prison Pavel Syramolatau was released from prison by president pardon on September 27th. Pavel was arrested on January 17th 2011 due to attack on KGB building in Bobruisk, which was announced as solidarity action with anarchists arrested in Minsk in September 2010. In may 2011 after more than six months of investigation he was sentenced to 7 years in prison. Their action were classified by court as destruction of private property.
Under pressure of colony administration he signed petition for pardon this June.
Mikalai Dziadok (4,5 years) is finishing his 3rd month in a solitary cell after having refused to work on Saturdays. Work is obligatory in Belarusian penal colonies, but is regulated by the Labour Code, which prescribes that a person shouldn’t work more than 40 hours a week. Mikalai was forced to work more on Saturdays, but refused to do so. He was punished with 6 months of solitary confinement on June 1st. During this period he is deprived of all dates, phone calls and food supply from the outside.
June 11th is the International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason & All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. This action day has a long history, it was organized first time 20 years ago in 2004. In the first year, we managed to paint a graffiti to wall of one of the most guarded objects of Moscow,...
Anarchist group ANA Regensburg hosted my online-presentation on 16th of May 2024, in which I discussed tactics of anti-war activism in Russia, and reasons why the anti-war movement has not been able to make an impact to change the course of events yet. Cases of anarchists repressed for anti-war...