Dzmitry Palienka: I‘ll Keep Fighting Dictatorship

The former political prisoner called for courage in defending one’s rights.

Today political prisoner Dmitry Polienko has left the Babruisk colony. The Charter97.org website congratulated him on the release and asked a few questions.

– What are your impressions of the Babruisk colony? What was the most memorable? Can we talk about the pressure of the administration on political prisoners?

– If to talk about impressions, well, I didn't enjoy the experience. I could feel increased interest of the colony administration. They did various dirty tricks, for example, they did not let letters in, for two years they never allowed a long meeting with my father. There were constant provocations on their part.

For example, I was locked up in a punishment cell and thrown into the same cell with a neo-Nazi, although they knew that I adhere to anti-fascist views. Probably, they thought that we would conflict. But nothing happened.

– What helped you to withstand a two-year term, despite the provocations of the colony administration? What forms of support were most important to you?

– The public solidarity helped a lot. I especially want to emphasize the support of friends, associates, opposition forces, human rights activists, independent media. Thanks to all these factors, the colony administration failed to suppress me within the two years.

– When an independent media outlet writes about a person, a large number of letters come to him, does this make other prisoners respect him or her? Is it important for a person who is in prison?

– You know, for my cellmates such large-scale solidarity was very unusual. I note that many shared and supported my views. Almost everyone criticized the current government. I can say for sure that I have not met a single person behind bars who would say that “I am for Lukashenka.”

– Did the official recognition of you as a prisoner of conscience help you? How does the status of a political prisoner affect the conditions of being in a colony?

– I think that it is very important that a person is officially recognized as a political prisoner. It helped me. In short, I had the threat of extending my term under the article "disobedience", but the status of a political prisoner did not allow the administration to do this.

– What are you going to do now?

– In the nearest future I plan to meet with relatives, friends. And then I will continue fighting against the dictatorship and the whole system. We will seek the release of other political prisoners

– What would you like to say to our readers, who followed your fate and today read about your release?

– I would like to thank everyone and say: do not be afraid to defend your rights!