‘They, Like Spartans In Thermopylae, Hold Defense Of Entire Belarus’

About the resilience of Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk and other political prisoners.

Members of the European Parliament from the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction called for the release of Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, the activist of the European Belarus civil campaign. It is emphasized that Palina's health deteriorated seriously in the colony.

Her husband, an activist of the European Belarus civil campaign Andrei Sharenda, told Charter97.org about the latest news from Palina, and revealed the secret of her resilience even in harsh conditions.

— In the last four months, very little news or information has come from Palina. My wife, like many political prisoners who did not break down and continue to defend themselves, found herself in an information vacuum, almost completely isolated.

We know that Palina has been in a cell-type premise for the eighth month already. This is the first such case. None of the political prisoners had been in the CTP for more than six months.

The fact is that she was initially assigned six months in a cell-type premise — this is the maximum possible period. But Palina also spent about 80 days in a punishment cell, which was not counted as being in the cell-type premises. Hence these 8 months.

We must understand that we are talking about inhuman conditions. The cell-type premise is a little different from the punishment cell. Unless there you can use a minimum of personal belongings and some walks are allowed.

In fact, the cell-type premise is the same punishment cell. There is no opportunity to use parcels, packages, you can not buy food in the prison store. In such torture-like conditions, my wife has been holding on for many months.

— Why is Polina being held in the cell-type premises and punishment cells for so long?

— She has a lot of “regime violations”. Some of them are provocations on the part of the administration of the colony. In addition, Palina refuses to work for the Lukashenka regime in any form point-blank. The only enterprise that operates in the Zarechcha colony is a sewing workshop for sewing uniforms for border guards and other security officers.

It is clear that Polina will not agree to this type of work under any circumstances. More than half of her “violations” are precisely because of this.

— What is known about Polina's state of health?

— According to the pieces of information that come, it is known that Palina's eyesight is deteriorating. I also want to say that my wife has a chronic disease associated with the functioning of the liver. For the normal functioning of the liver, she needs to take a course of drugs every six months, but all our requests to the colony receive replies that supposedly all medical care is provided to her, and she does not need additional medicines. As a result, for more than a year, Palina has not been taking vital drugs, which cannot but affect her state of health. It is known that Palina's illness worsened.

I will say that three weeks ago we managed to send a medical parcel, which was due in time, but there is no return information. Looks like the package got stuck somewhere. Although usually delivery takes a few days. Nevertheless, Palina is holding on. She remains unbroken, holds the line and does not give up.

— What is the secret of her resilience?

— You know, Palina has been in the resistance movement for two decades. She started with the Young Front, and her character was tempered in the Zubr movement. Palina is a leader by nature, her life is a struggle. Now, in inhuman conditions, her inner core helps her to hold on. By the way, she has been imprisoned in harsh conditions from the very beginning, that is, for 2.5 years. It's just a huge test.

I call on the international community to pay attention to the situation with Palina and other political prisoners. Do not be silent, but act.

— There has been no information from one of the opposition leaders, political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, for more than 70 days. What can happen to him?

— Lukashenka still cannot survive his defeat in 2020. All his actions fail. He is haunted by thousands of political prisoners who continue to fight within the system. It would seem that they are in complete isolation, their health and destinies are in the hands of the regime, but at the same time they continue open, flamboyant resistance. One of the most striking examples of this is Mikalai Statkevich.

His appeals from prison, words about the situation in Belarus, statements about the war with Ukraine are so important and effective that every word of his from prison is echoed and for Belarusians is a symbol of struggle.

Statkevich, Yauhen Afnahel, Ales Bialiatski, my wife Palina and other political prisoners, they, like 300 Spartans in Thermopylae, are holding the defense of the whole of Belarus for all of us now.

Lukashenka understands that his time in power is coming to an end. In economic terms, he is almost completely bankrupt. He wants to start trading people with the West, but our fighters do not allow him to do this with their unshakable position.

Over the past few months, Lukashenka's regime has begun a last-ditch battle of attrition against political prisoners. He started physical pressure. It is known that the majority of well-known political prisoners are not released from the basements of the detention centers for months, and their relatives are in full ignorance.

There is colossal pressure on Statkevich's wife Maryna Adamovich, who has been without any information about him for almost three months. It's all very hard to endure, but we must hold on like our heroes.

— What can we do right now for your wife, Mikalai Statkevich and other political prisoners?

— It is necessary to finish off the Lukashenka regime. We see that no matter how the pro-government media say that “sanctions do not work”, this is not at all the case. We see that the economy is not functioning, the only partner left for Lukashenka is Russia. But the Russian Federation itself is now going through hard economic times. It is close to collapse and it does not need ballast impersonified by the Lukashenka regime. They can kick him out at any moment.

We, the relatives of political prisoners, must oppose any attempts by the regime to circumvent the sanctions and lift them. Many political prisoners have guardians, “godparents” from the European Parliament and other factions. They are our chance. Any relative of a political prisoner can even anonymously write to their guardian so that they fight, and pressure on the regime in Belarus does not decrease.

This is something that each of us can do. I urge you to write to European parliamentarians, politicians, call for action on the international front, and this, I am sure, will help both us and those who are imprisoned to survive. The fight against Lukashenka is underway.

You can support the political prisoner at the address below: Palina Siarheyeuna Sharenda-Panasiuk, penal colony #24, 247526, Proizvodstvennaya St., 44, Zarechcha, Rechytsa district, Homel region, Belarus.

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