Relatives receive no letters from Ihar Alinevich after publication of his book
In March the book by
the Belarusian political prisoner Ihar Alinevich "Going to
Magadan" ("Yedu v Magadan") was published in
Russia.
The author used the form of diary to tell about the
events which took place in Belarus at the end of 2010, his own arrest
and keeping in the remand prison of the KGB, tells Radio
"Liberty".
The official presentation of the book in
Belarus will take place on 19 April. However, as soon as the press
wrote about the publication o the book, Alinevich's letters stopped
reaching his family. Neither have they received any telephone calls
from him.
"The authorities are blankly against
publicizing any information about our prison system and telling the
truth about what is going on here. I can't tell how he managed to
pass these diaries, but he did it. However, there has been no news
from him since 19 March. Writing the truth is not that easy..., but
Ihar has enough courage. He understood it all well enough when
saying: Who will do it if I don't? If everyone will keep living in
fear, nothing will change at all."
Bear in mind that
on 27 Mary 2011 Zhana Khvainitskaya, Judge of Zavadski District Court
of Minsk, sentenced Ihar Alinevich to 8 years in a high-security
prison. He is serving his term in Navapolatsk colony #10. He, Mikalai
Dziadok and Aliaksandr Frantskevich were found guilty of organizing a
procession near the building of the Ministry of Defense, the assaults
on "Shangri-La" casino and the delinquents' isolation
center in Akrestsin Street and setting fire to the doors of a branch
of "Belarusbank".
