Political prisoner Aliaksandr Frantskevich not allowed to read Dovlatov and Kafka

An activist of the anarchist movement Aliaksandr Frantskevich who is serving a prison term wasn't allowed to receive a parcel with books by Sergey Dovlatov and Franz Kafka.

"I have no idea why they refused to accept the books – I received hte parcel back, though recently his counsel had been told that fiction could be sent there. They only warned against sending phylosophical and political books, but now it looks so that fiction is also under a ban. Maybe they banned Dovlatov as he wrote about the Soviet-time concentration camps, in which he worked as a guard? And it is difficult to imagine why they didn't accept books by Franz Kafka," commented Aliaksandr's mother Tatsiana Frantskevich.

Aliaksandr Frantskevich was sentenced to 3 years in prison for involvement in the attacks on building of banks and state agencies. He would be released in several months. At present he is kept in a cell-type facility.

What concerns other activists of the anarchist movement who are kept in jail, the mother of Ihar Alinevich, Valiantsina Alinevich, commented to Radio "Liberty": "No parcels are accepted by his penitentiary since 1 June. Ihar told me about this during our last meeting in May. As far as I know it is the general rule, but in practice it turns out that the situation may differ in various penitentiaries. Earlier, the administration of the Navapolatsk penitentiary where Ihar is serving his term didn't allow passing him any books. Once I bought a phylosophical book in a shop opposite Lukashenka's administration and showed the receipt to a colony officer, but the book wasn't accepted even then. Ihar also asked me not to pass him any fiction, pointing that there was quite a good library in the penitentiary. Where do they come from? It is impossible to take back the books which are passed there, that's how a good library happens to be formed."

Political prisoner Ihar Alinevich was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment.

The father of another political prisoners, activist of the anarchist movement Mikalai Dziadok, also told about the situation with books. "I am drawing a list of books I intend to pass to my song. I will send it to him and he will determine what should be passed, as he has a better knowledge of what will be accepted by the prison personnel. I know it for sure that no print-outs from the Internet will be accepted. The son jokes that even if you send an instruction on growing cactuses, printed out from the Internet, it won't be accepted.

Mikalai Dziadok, sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment, is kept in the Mahiliou prison as a malignant violator of the regime, where the former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich and political activist Yauhen Vaskovich are kept.