Singer Meriem Herasimenka Releases Her First Song After Leaving Belarus

The track titled "Silence All Around" was written from scratch.

Singer Meriem Herasimenka, sentenced to three years of restriction of freedom, released the first song after the evacuation from Belarus.

The singer said on her Instagram that the track titled "Silence All Around" was written from scratch while she was still in the pre-trial detention centre.

"The music was just in my head, and I was describing the events around me, moments, my experiences..." - the singer wrote.

In the single, Meriem shared her experiences, talked about life divided into "before and after", about the sky, which she had to look at "through white windows covered with black bars".

"This track is for those who are ready to just immerse themselves in that atmosphere, to listen to my story where I spent almost six months, and I'm not the only one. It was supposed to be released back last spring, but its time has only come now. I wish strength to everyone for whom this story turns out to be personal... With this track I close those memories for me," Meriem wrote.

We remind you that Meriem Herasimenka was detained in early August 2022 after she played a concert on the terrace of the "Jars-Bottles" bar in the centre of Minsk, in Zybitskaya Street. She performed songs by the Ukrainian band Okean Elzy, among others. The girl was sentenced first for 15 days of imprisonment, then again for the same term, but she was never released.

Later, a criminal case was opened against Herasimenka. Earlier law enforcers claimed that the girl had participated in protests in 2020. Human rights activists recognised her as a political prisoner.

On January 20, 2023, the court sentenced Meriem Gerasimenko to three years of serving the sentence at the place of residence.

On January 16, 2024 it became known that the singer had been successfully evacuated from Belarus and was safe.