Political prisoner Ihar Alinevich is first winner of Frantsishak Aliakhnovich prize
WInners and nominees for the Frantsishak Aliakhnovich prize. Photo by Radio "Liberty"
On 10 December, Human Rights Day, the Belarusian PEN Center and Radio "Liberty" announced the winners of the Frantsishak Aliakhnovich award for the best work written in prison.
The jury of the contest included literary translator Liavon Barshcheuski, the head of the Belarusian office of Radio "Liberty" Aliaksandr Lukashuk, poet and former political prisoner Uladzimir Niakliayeu, correspondent of Radio "Liberty" Hanna Sous, and a former political prisoner and literary critic Aliaksandr Fiaduta.
The first winner of the literary prize was a political prisoner Ihar Alinevich, the author of the book "I'm going to Magadan" , which is well known not only in Belarus, but also abroad. It has been translated into several European languages . Mr. Alinevich is still serving a prison term, that's why the award was received by his mother, Valiantsina Alinevich. "We must do everything to ensure that other mothers do not receive awards for books that their children write in prisons," said Valiantsina Alinevich.
Among the other winners are Pavel Seviarynets with the book "Belarusian Depth", Anatol Liabedzka with the book "108 days and nights in the KGB prison: Diary of political hostage Anatol Liabedzka"), Aliaksandr Kirkevich ("Unfinished Odyssey: Belarusian prison for Beginners" (manuscript), Ales Bialiatski ("Enlightened by the Belarusian Issue") and Yury Bandazheuski ("Prison and Health: Tips professor of medicine") .
The rest of the nominees - Zmitser Dashkevich, Zmitser Karpinski, Siarhei Klachkou, Aliaksandr Frantskevich and Iryna Khalip, received diplomas.
Ihar Alinevich was detained on 29 November 2010, convicted on 27 May 2011 by the Zavadski District Court of Minsk under Part 2 of Art. 339 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism), Part 2, Part 3 of Article 218 of the Criminal Code (large-scale property damage committed in a dangerous way) to 8 years of imprisonment in a maximum security penitentiary. He serves his sentence in the penitentiary No. 10 in Navapolatsk.
