"They spread my legs wide and kicked them." A former political prisoner spoke about colony No. 17 and the persecution after his release

Henadz Smirnou, 49, from Liakhavičy, was imprisoned for almost two and a half years. The man was punished for distributing leaflets and "resisting arrest" and served his time in Škloŭ colony No. 17, where he experienced pressure: he was kept in solitary confinement for 109 days in a row, and the administration beat the man several times. The political prisoner went on hunger strike several times. But after his release in December 2023, the pressure on the man did not end: he was detained three times in administrative cases. In February 2024, the man served 15 days of arrest in the Liakhavičy temporary detention facility, whose conditions he called more inhumane than solitary confinement (SHIZO) in a colony. After another detention, the man, along with his son, former political prisoner Viachaslau, was forced to leave Belarus in order not to go to be imprisoned again. Henadz told Viasna about cold torture and beatings in the Škloŭ colony, about the persecution after his release, and about community service in Belarus.

Henadz Smirnou

In October 2021, Henadz Smirnou and his son Viachaslau were sentenced to two and a half years in a penal colony and two years in an open-type correctional institution, respectively. They were accused of "insulting Lukashenka" in leaflets (Part 1 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code), and Henadz was also accused of "resisting an employee of the internal affairs bodies" (Part 2 of Article 363 of the Criminal Code). In December 2023, the father and son were released, having fully served their sentences.

The man served his sentence in penal colony-17 in Škloŭ. At first, after being transferred to the colony, Henadz could visit the club and play chess. Later, many political prisoners were deprived of such an opportunity. The administration of the colony made sure that political prisoners did not talk to each other. In addition, almost all political prisoners in the Škloŭ colony are recognized as "malicious violators of the regulations."

"They spread my legs wide and kicked them"

According to Henadz, after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the administration of the Škloŭ colony began to block correspondence of political prisoners with everyone except relatives, and in some cases even with them.

In May 2022, physical force was used against the former political prisoner in the colony:

"I did not make reports as they wanted, and argued that I was convicted illegally. For this, they spread my legs wide and kicked them. First the boss was kicking me, and then his first deputy. It lasted two days, and on the third day another employee came and said, 'Now you're going to lie down here.' I was already going to do everything, and I told them: 'If necessary, I will.' I was on a hunger strike at the time. I refused to do anything: to clean, to report. It was a matter of principle."

"I spent 109 days in solitary confinement"

During his imprisonment in the colony, Henadz was held for several months in a punitive isolation cell (SHIZO) and a cell-type space (PKT):

"In total, I spent 109 days in solitary confinement from November 2, 2022 to February 19, 2023. There was a moment when I was kept in the freezer for 10 days. And before that, from November 2 to November 29, they practically did not feed me: they gave one spoonful of food. At the end of the month, already in PKT, I was allowed to buy things in a prison shop for a permitted sum. But then they made this sum lower. So I decided not to buy anything at all. For this, I was taken out for a full search. I noticed that I was being led head first into the metal edge of the door, at speed. I slowed down a bit, but I smashed my head from behind. I had a bump and bled, but it would be scarier if I hadn't slowed down."

Cold torture in SHIZO

"It was December then, about -15 °C outside. I was held for 10 days and nine nights with the window open and the window above the door open. There was a continuous draft for 10 days. I got burns on my arms and legs because I was holding on to the hot radiator, but I couldn't get warm in any way. I hardly slept there.

At night, everything was numb from the cold. In SHIZO, all belongings are taken away: for example, even a T-shirt with sleeves.

In protest against such conditions of detention, the man went on a dry hunger strike, which he was able to hold for two days.

"I saw that I had blood in my urine and bile clots in saliva. I realized that my body couldn't bear it, and after two days I decided to stop.

On the 70th day, I no longer felt cold. Sometimes, after a shower, we were taken outside in the cold, while the cell was fully aired. I went back to the cell, and the guards told me: 'Hena, you probably don't freeze anymore.'"

Pavel Belavus was sent to SHIZO several times

Henadz spoke about the political prisoners he met in the colony:

"Pasha Seviarynets, before he was sent to a high-security prison, also was there for a while. Pavel Belavus and I sat at tables next to each other in the dining room. We didn't talk much.

There was also a senior citizen Viachaslau Areshka. He didn't go to work. It was very difficult for him: he did not manage to do anything on time, even to eat in the dining room."

"They put you face down, hands behind the head"

The man recalls that shortly before his release, "innovations" appeared in the colony, which are an additional form of pressure on prisoners.

"When they put me back to SHIZO before my release, I met Henadz Drazdou there. This did not happen before, but now, when someone has to go to SHIZO, two guards immediately twist their hands and take their heads down almost to their knees, put them face down, hands behind their heads, legs spread wide.

And so they put Henadz with me. He told them that he had had two strokes and was not feeling well. And they spread our legs even wider, and threw his leg on mine so that it would be uncomfortable to lie."

"The tooth eventually broke"

Henadz recalls that almost every day the colony's medical staff checks the health status of prisoners in SHIZO.

"There is only one dentist in the colony. I was able to get there only once. They put in medicines for the tooth and that was it. The tooth eventually broke."

"The pressure has begun after my release"

After his release from the colony, the pressure from the authorities on Henadz and his son did not stop.

"The pressure has begun after my release. I was sentenced to days of detention three times. First, after two days in a temporary detention facility, I was sentenced to 60 hours of community service. Then, I served several days, and then they fined me.

And the third time I went to Brest to get a visa, but I was not allowed to leave. My son and I went at our own risk on Tuesday. We took taxis everywhere so as not to leave traces. And on Wednesdays we reported to the police station. And so I came there, and the inspectors asked me what we were doing in Baranavičy at such a time. And they showed me our photo, but I didn't say that it's not me. So they handcuffed me right in the office and sent me to a cell.

They took me to court the next day and sentenced me to 15 days. Major Andrei Charankevich, who recently died, came to the trial to prove that I was at the train station."

"It's even worse in the temporary detention facility now than in SHIZO"

Henadz Smirnou with his son Viachaslau

The former political prisoner, who spent several weeks in the Liakhavičy temporary detention facility at the beginning of the year, compared the conditions of detention with those in SHIZO.

"It's even worse in the temporary detention facility now than in SHIZO. They give you absolutely nothing. I told them that there is no other way to call it than 'genocide'. Because even in SHIZO they give you a towel, soap, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. There are no mattresses, they wake you up at night, a new cell every day, handcuffs are put on twice a day during a search, people with mental issues are put into your cell."

Community service

Community service is a fairly common practice of punishment for administrative offenses. Henadz spoke about the way this punishment is applied in Belarus.

"The judge sentenced me to 60 hours of community service. We loaded wood into a trailer when threes were pruned in the city. Someone was cleaning up the garbage in the city. Once we even filled holes in the road with asphalt. We worked for eight hours for about a week and a half. When I worked those hours, they were happy because there was no one to work."

After the last arrest, Henadz had one violation left, after which he would be sent back to the colony for violating the rules of "preventive supervision". Therefore, Henadz and Viachaslau decided to leave the country. The father and son had to leave their house, dog, and cats.