Surapin's parents meet him with a buffet dinner
The photographer who first published the photos with the Swedish teddy bears returned home after 35 days in prison.
"They called me at about 6 in the morning and said: "Someone will talk to you right now". They gave the phone to Anton... I unbderstood at once that they were releasing him", - Anton Surapin's mother Alena says and invites everyone to table.
"The KGB officers woke me up on July 13. They came with a search. I am sorry I cannot tell you everything... They delivered me to the KGB office and there was an order for arrest for 72 hours, and for 10 days afterwards. I wasn't surprised much, as it has always been dangerous to do independent journalism in Belarus", - Anton says vividly, but is obvious that he is picking the words carefully. Especially, when I ask him about interrogations and confinement conditions in the KGB prison.
Surapin did not get letters apart from the ones sent by his parents. He found out about his release only when he saw the investigator in the corridor. The youngster confesses that he did not even leave the parcel which he got in the cell as he thought they were just going to transfer him to another cell. He regrets now that he did not leave the food to his cell-mates.
Anton with his father and mother.
Surapin tells very little about the very case of border crossing - this is the secret of the investigation. There is an interesting moment - Anton found out that real estate broker Syarhei Basharymau was also arrested only last Thursday - he heard it in the news on the ONT TV-Channel. The journalist does not take offence with the Swedes.
"I think it was fun. As for my arrest, you know... as they said in the support actions "you f****ed it up and you should answer for it". I only did my job as a journalist".