Andrei Sannikov: “I see that Europeans would have nothing against our being killed in prisons”

During his meeting with his wife the political prisoner and presidential candidate gave evaluation to the recent events in Belarus.

Now the former Deputy Foreign Minister, coordinator of “European Belarus” civil campaign, Andrei Sannikov works in Navapolatsk penal colony making corrugated board boxes. The working day starts at 7 a.m. It is an industry with health hazard, and Andrei suffers from severe cough. Soap and polyethylene are produced near the place where their brigade works. Incarceration conditions in the penal colony are rather severe. One can be placed into the punishment cell just for an undone button.

During the two hours of the meeting with his wife Iryna Khalip, the presidential candidate learnt the news about his son, all his relatives and loved ones, and also to talk about politics and recent events.

“When it was just announced about the 9 pardoned prisoners, without their names being told, that it was obvious dirty games were continued: write, ask humbly, eat the dust, and you will be released. And it turned out that not all were released: there are people who had written petitions, but they haven’t been released. Besides, Andrei told that at least in Navapolatsk colony a paradigmatic legend about pardon granted in advance to a person sentenced to 9 years is handed down. He was told: repent, the pardon documents are ready already. He gave in, admitted guilt. And that’s what they had been waiting for: they sneered and reduced his term by just one year out of nine. One should remember such stories. Lucking, Andrei confirmed that he had not been addressed with such proposals at all, and it means that at least he had not been pressurized in this case, as in all other aspects Andrei is treated very harshly by the colony administration. He is greatly supported by letters he receives from unknown persons.

Besides, Andrei told that by releasing 9 persons, Lukashenka has openly admitted that innocent people, people who should not be kept there, are kept in prisons, and certainly has demonstrated that harsh punishment through courts and pardons have nothing to do with real court, with fair conduct of proceedings. The punitive system is a part of the repressive machinery and one of the instruments in dirty political games. Andrei told that many prisoners are thankful to him for speaking about violations of prisoners’ rights in his election programme, but only after he became a prisoner himself he realized the scale the victimization of political prisoners had reached. And there are two problems in it, not one on the one hand the problem of unfair verdicts. People are imprisoned in packs, especially the ones charged with economic crimes, in hope that they would buy off. And secondly, the system itself has become so rotten that it should be razed completely. This is the case when everything is to be changed in this system,” Iryna Khalip told charter97.org.

The presidential candidate knows about the recent scandal with disclosing bank accounts of Belarusian human rights activist by Lithuania and Poland, which resulted in arrest of Ales Byalyatski, Vyasna leader.

“Andrei doubts that it was an accident, an unfortunate mistake of some bureaucrat of the ministry. It looks more like a system-level actions. Europe continues the police of cooperation with the dictatorial regime, and once again is making the same mistake, probable justifying that by a noble aim – to prevent Belarus from falling into the embrace of Russia. “I already see that the Europeans have nothing against of our being killed in prisons, all of us” he said. Andrei is certainly thankful for solidarity to everyone but he believes that now the US is setting an example of harsh and sustainable policy towards Lukashenka’s dictatorial regime,” Iryna Khalip quotes her husband.