Valiery Lievanieuski Organizes Library in Penal Colony :: Charter'97 :: News

The political prisoner Valiery Lievanieuski who spends his term at penal colony #22 in Ivatsevichy, organized there a library. At present the library has about a thousand of books, magazines and newspapers that have been sent from all corners of Belarus. However, not all of them passed the prison censorship.

Lievanieuski’s work on establishment of the library started in the beginning of 2005. The hardest thing was to get the permission from the administration and the room for the library. Then Lievanieuski sent dozens of letters, asking people to send books to the colony. The parcels still arrive, but the prison administration attentively examines the list of the received books. According to Lievanieuski’s son Uladzimir, the books that contain maps and/or describe production of firearms and explosives are banned.

Last time Uladzimir Lievaniueuski visited his father last week, together with former political prisoner Aliaksandr Vasilieu, who tries to establish a public organization for support to prisoners of Belarusian jails. According to him, it is necessary to urgently improve the conditions in jail and the level of the medical assistance. By the way, Aliaksandr Vasilieu is sure that there are much more political prisoners in Belarus than people think:

-- There are many people, who are imprisoned for allegedly economic violations, but the real reason is expression of dissent with the authorities. The authorities got to know about it and imprisoned them for different reasons. By the way, people are sentenced to large terms, 6-12 years of jail. There are many good people in jails.

The information department of "Viasna"
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