Families of political prisoners. Courage and Anguish (Photo)

An exhibition “Letters: Courage and Anguish” of an art photographer Andrei Dubinin has been opened in Prague. It is prepared by “Release” civil initiative and is dedicated to families and relatives of Belarusian political prisoners.

The exhibition is a series of portraits of wives, parents, children and friends of those who had been affect by the crackdown after the rally on December 19, 2010. One of the organizers Alyaksei Frantskevich told to Radio Svaboda that on February 16 an official opening ceremony with participation of Czech politicians is to take place.

“By this exhibition we want to show the young who are students of Czech universities what is happening in Belarus in reality. Then we plan to hold an exhibition in all educational institutions,” Alyaksei Frantskevich says.

As said by the photographer, Andrei Dubinin, he aimed to overstep the limits of the politics and to show the events in Belarus through stories of political prisoners’ families:

“Friends and families of political prisoners are shown at the pictures. Many of them were captured on film with letters from those who were imprisoned or in exile. For a long time letters were the only means of communication with the world. The population of Belarus lives in the conditions of informational isolation, the press is controlled by the state, and access to independent mass media is limited. We are witnessing arrests, trials over dozens of people, but it is just the top of the iceberg. The crackdown has affect hundreds of relatives and friends, and fear had been placed into the hearts of thousands Belarusians.”

Earlier the exhibition was held in London, Brussels, Tallinn, Warsaw and Vilnius, where it aroused much interest. In the Czech Republic the exhibition is located in Charles University in Prague, at Humanities Faculty (U Kříže 8 Praha 5 - Jinonice, Fakulta humanitních studií KU). The exhibition is to last until February 19.