Mikola Dziadok

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Moreover, strict compliance with the rules is demanded only from those who ‘stand out’ in some way: political prisoners and those who dare to speak about their rights. The others have more or less quiet lives – as long as they are silent. I have observed the application of Article 411 so many times, and it was always out of revenge to a prisoner for his indomitable will, or for the defense of his rights, and never anything else.

In their official publications, correctional officers - though it would be more correct to call them punitive - constantly repeat that they took the best from the Soviet penal system. It is true, if to you the best things are a total disregard for the individual, ruthless suppression of prisoners’ will, promoting divisions into castes and roles and the use of fear as the only method of control. The President of Belarus likes to say that Belarus is the centre of Europe. But why then does this ‘centre’ brutally ignore its international commitments - not least the Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees respect for human dignity, the right to humane treatment and a fair trial? A convict in Belarus is a powerless and dependent creature, whose fate is entirely in the hands of the officials of the penitentiary and the Department of Corrections. If they want to, they will put you in a remand prison, secure housing unit or transfer to a prison. They can lower the status of a convict so that he will cease to exist as a person for others (this is done by loyal prisoners who can execute any order), or extend their sentence. This feeling of despair and powerlessness is difficult to convey – it can only be felt.

Of course, I would really like to shout to the whole world about the injustice caused to me by the punitive system, but I do want to be the last convict under Article 411. Therefore, I appeal to the international and Belarusian human rights agents, to all international organisations interested in human rights, and to concerned people of Belarus: do everything possible for the repeal of Article 411 of the Criminal Code. The Belarusian society is atomised, constrained by fear and conformism. Separate groups can barely defend their economic rights, and those who are trying to protect their political rights are subject to endless repression. However, I am convinced that the Belarusian people will wake up and realize that ‘those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety’3, that the collective will of the people can force the state machine to listen to reason and begin to fulfill its international obligations.

Of course, the world's attention and that of Europe today is focused on Ukraine, where people die in tens and hundreds, and it seems that the suffering of the five political prisoners in a relatively stable and peaceful Belarus is a small matter. However, let’s not forget that the events in the Ukraine began largely due to the lack of respect for human dignity, the attempts to impose on society a life of fear and an anti-democratic system of values. What are we witnessing in Belarus, if not the same thing?

I therefore send to you, and all those who have the power and ability to influence the situation, my hope that what is happening to me will not happen to anyone else in Belarus.

Mikalai Dziadok

Prison No. 4

March 2015’.

www.group-telegram.com/us/MDziadok.com/364

1.0K viewsOct 16, 2024 at 07:46

[2/2]

Moreover, strict compliance with the rules is demanded only from those who ‘stand out’ in some way: political prisoners and those who dare to speak about their rights. The others have more or less quiet lives – as long as they are silent. I have observed the application of Article 411 so many times, and it was always out of revenge to a prisoner for his indomitable will, or for the defense of his rights, and never anything else.

In their official publications, correctional officers - though it would be more correct to call them punitive - constantly repeat that they took the best from the Soviet penal system. It is true, if to you the best things are a total disregard for the individual, ruthless suppression of prisoners’ will, promoting divisions into castes and roles and the use of fear as the only method of control. The President of Belarus likes to say that Belarus is the centre of Europe. But why then does this ‘centre’ brutally ignore its international commitments - not least the Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees respect for human dignity, the right to humane treatment and a fair trial? A convict in Belarus is a powerless and dependent creature, whose fate is entirely in the hands of the officials of the penitentiary and the Department of Corrections. If they want to, they will put you in a remand prison, secure housing unit or transfer to a prison. They can lower the status of a convict so that he will cease to exist as a person for others (this is done by loyal prisoners who can execute any order), or extend their sentence. This feeling of despair and powerlessness is difficult to convey – it can only be felt.

Of course, I would really like to shout to the whole world about the injustice caused to me by the punitive system, but I do want to be the last convict under Article 411. Therefore, I appeal to the international and Belarusian human rights agents, to all international organisations interested in human rights, and to concerned people of Belarus: do everything possible for the repeal of Article 411 of the Criminal Code. The Belarusian society is atomised, constrained by fear and conformism. Separate groups can barely defend their economic rights, and those who are trying to protect their political rights are subject to endless repression. However, I am convinced that the Belarusian people will wake up and realize that ‘those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety’3, that the collective will of the people can force the state machine to listen to reason and begin to fulfill its international obligations.

Of course, the world's attention and that of Europe today is focused on Ukraine, where people die in tens and hundreds, and it seems that the suffering of the five political prisoners in a relatively stable and peaceful Belarus is a small matter. However, let’s not forget that the events in the Ukraine began largely due to the lack of respect for human dignity, the attempts to impose on society a life of fear and an anti-democratic system of values. What are we witnessing in Belarus, if not the same thing?

I therefore send to you, and all those who have the power and ability to influence the situation, my hope that what is happening to me will not happen to anyone else in Belarus.

Mikalai Dziadok

Prison No. 4

March 2015’.

BY Mikola Dziadok