Bialiatski: Ambulance delivered me from colony to railway station

Neither Ales Bialiatski, nor his friends and colleagues expected him to be released. The human rights defender arrived in Minsk from Babruisk by train at 3.15 p.m. on June 21. He spent 3 years in prison. His term was 4.5 years.

Colleagues, friends, a few politicians, journalists and 4 riot policemen met Ales Bialiatski at the station Instytut Kultury in Minsk.

There were hugs, smiles, tears of joy and flowers. People kept exclaiming: “Ales! I can’t believe it!” – “Do you think I can?!” The joy was accompanied with astonishment – Bialiatski was shaved. He did not have any hair and his famous moustache was gone. He was tired. It was the first thing he told journalists.

Ales Bialiatski: I need to recover, change and take a shower…  Thank you very much! But I need to go home as soon as possible! I haven’t been there for three years.

Was the release unexpected?

Ales Bialiatski: When I ‘came’ to Valadarski Street on August 4 three years ago, they started releasing those who had been detained in Independence Square. It was on August 15. My cellmates told me: you will be released too, go pack your things. And I spent the next there years in my boxes.

When did you change your haircut?

Ales Bialiatski: It is the only popular haircut there!

Will you keep it?

Ales Bialiatski: I do not know. We will see.

Did you expect to reach Minsk without adventures? Sometimes they make people get off earlier or create obstacles to avoid such meetings at railways stations…

Ales Bialiatski: They summoned me at 9 a.m. and said that I had been released. I packed within an hour and they took me to the railway station in an ambulance.

Why did they use an ambulance?

Ales Bialiatski: I do not know. You’d better ask them! Maybe they did it to hide the fact from everyone else.

Did they demand that you pled for mercy? Was there any pressure exercised by the prison administration?

Ales Bialiatski: They have not done anything like that for a few months. Pressure is a different story… They asked me whether I was going to plea for mercy in January. I refused. They did not ask me about it anymore. But everything is based on uncertainty there and there was some pressure. But I was determined not to do it from the very beginning…

We have tried to find out whether you could be amnestied this year several times. Did you expect to be amnestied?

Ales Bialiatski: I didn’t. I was a persistent troublemaker and could not be amnestied.

What was your last violation?

Ales Bialiatski: I cannot even remember it. It was something insignificant.

Did you watch the events in the country?

Ales Bialiatski: I got some information from letters and newspapers.

What do you think about the political situation in the country?

Ales Bialiatski: Everything seems so… sluggish.

What do you think about the events in Ukraine?

Ales Bialiatski: I always care about such things and life at liberty. The Ukrainian events have been my greatest… anxiety since the very begging, since Maidan and until today. I could wake up at night and think about it. In fact, it is very important…

Ales Bialiatski was accused of tax evasion (major tax evasion, article 243, part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) on August 4, 2011. According to the article, the human rights defender could be imprisoned for up to 7 years and his property could be confiscated. Bialiatski was imprisoned for 4.5 years for ‘major tax evasion’ on October 24, 2011.

Photo: Zmitser Lukashuk