Stage play, quiz, "prison experiment": events of the Week against Torture, June 24–30
June 26 is the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The Legal Initiative traditionally times the Week against Torture to coincide with it and arranges a series of educational events to draw attention to the ongoing abuse of detained and imprisoned Belarusians. The events will be held from June 24th to 30th in different European countries. Viasna reports what events are planned (the program will be updated).
A closed press conference for journalists. Online presentation on the investigation of Torture in the Maskoŭski Police Department, June 24
The Legal Initiative and the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus will hold a presentation on the investigation of torture in the Maskoŭski Police Department of Minsk, which took place from August 9 to August 13, 2020.
"To compile a chronology of events, we studied hundreds of pages of people's stories, as well as many documents and medical certificates. But the main thing is that we have identified the criminals. At the end of the report, there is a list with the names and photos of the security forces employees who participated in the torture on those days. Our main task is to restore the events of August 2020, to preserve all evidence of crimes and the names of criminals. To show the guilty that we know what they did. To make it clear to the regime that we will not forget or forgive anything."
Poznań, June 25, PRAVO NAPRAVO quiz
The organizers believe that complicated subject are important and need to be promoted by any means, and using games to talk about them helps to better understand the topic and remember more. So they offer to take part in the PRAVO NAPRAVO quiz on the right to protection from torture. If you've wanted to study this topic for a long time, but didn't know how to approach it, come to the quiz! They promise a lot of new facts and interesting questions in a friendly pub quiz environment.
Where and when: MY bar, Fredry 5/3a, Poznań, 25.06, Tuesday, 18:00; registration for teams
Warsaw, June 26, the play The Day After Tomorrow It will be Tomorrow
Director and actor Pavel Haradnitski and the Legal Initiative will present a collaboration: a monodrama about a man who went through a Belarusian prison for leaving comments. This is a true story, based on the documented testimonies of victims. The play was made especially for the Week against Torture. The Day After Tomorrow It will be Tomorrow is a story about survival in difficult conditions, about humanity and hope, which cannot be taken away even within the walls of a prison. For one hour, the audience will have the opportunity to observe reality through the eyes of the protagonist: laugh, cry with him, and dream about something of their own.
Where and when: Museum of Free Belarus (Free Belarus Museum on Google Maps), Warsaw, ul. Foksal, 11, 26.06, Wednesday, tickets; the play will be shown with English subtitles
Lviv, June 26, open day at the Lonsky Prison Museum
June 26 will be an open day in the building of the former Lonsky prison in Lviv. Why the Lonsky prison exactly? Its cells were once a place where torturers tried to break the will and faith of Ukrainians. The organizers believe that prisons in Belarus, Russia, and Crimea, where political prisoners — Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Crimean Tatars — are currently held, are very similar.
How will it look like? There will be sound installations: speakers will be put to the cells and one will be able to listen to the stories of people who personally encountered the violent machine of the Lukashenka regime. These will be documented stories of real people.
Where and when: Lviv, vul. Stepana Bandery, 1, 26.06, Wednesday, 10:00–18:00, free admission during the day
Vilnius, June 27, the play The Day After Tomorrow It will be Tomorrow
Director and actor Pavel Haradnitski and the Legal Initiative will present a collaboration: a monodrama about a man who went through a Belarusian prison for leaving comments. This is a true story, based on the documented testimonies of victims. The play was made especially for the Week against Torture. The Day After Tomorrow It will be Tomorrow is a story about survival in difficult conditions, about humanity and hope, which cannot be taken away even within the walls of a prison. For one hour, the audience will have the opportunity to observe reality through the eyes of the protagonist: laugh, cry with him, and dream about something of their own.
Where and when: 27.06, Thursday, the rest of the data will be clarified
Vilnius, June 27, Prison Experiment
The Legal Initiative will hold an unusual event at the prison museum in Vilnius. The participants, mostly foreigners, will find themselves in an overcrowded cell for a while in order to learn from personal experience what the Lukashenka regime does to incarcerated Belarusians. After the experiment, those who wish will share their impressions during a discussion. The purpose of the experiment is to draw attention to the situation with political prisoners in Belarus. Right now, the dictatorial regime of Lukashenka holds more than 1,400 people in Belarusian prisons for political reasons, and torture is used against many of them.
Where and when: The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, Auk. g., 2A, 27.06, Thursday, 10:00, registration; the event will be interpreted into English
Poznan, June 27, First aid training
First aid is not a theory, but a skill. One cannot learn this by reading even the best practical guide. In order to be able to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, stop bleeding, and dress a wound, it is necessary to practice under the guidance of professionals. Getting first aid training is a real chance to save a person's life someday.
Where and when: 27.06, Thursday, the rest of the data will be clarified
Warsaw, June 29, the Legal Initiative at Hučna Fest
On June 29, Warsaw will host the next big Hučna Fest on the bank of the Vistula River with modern literature and art, Belarusian music, and activism. The team of the Legal Initiative will hold activities dedicated to the Week against Torture at its site.
Where and when: Vistula Coast, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 22, 29.06, Saturday, 13:00-17:00, free admission
Online auction of Volha Yakubouskaya's painting, June 24–30
An online auction will be held throughout the Week against Torture; you can buy one of the paintings by Belarusian artist Volha Yakubouskaya. The proceeds will be used to help victims of persecution.
The works of Volha Yakubouskaya, an artist from Navapolack, are probably familiar to every Belarusian who is not indifferent. It was she who, after the events of 2020, depicted the heroes of peaceful actions in the form of cats opposing the wolves, accomplices of the regime. The artist calls herself a protest reporter and intends to keep a "cat" chronicle until Belarus becomes free.
Where and when: link to the auction (will be available during the Week)
