Belarus exposes harsh tactics of Lukashenko's regime
Belarusian Antanina Kanavalava, in an interview with Bielsat, spoke about the methods used by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko to force innocent prisoners to "confess to crimes." From her account, it seems that the methods used in Belarus have changed little from those used during the Soviet Union's time.
Kanavalava spent over four years in a penal colony. After leaving prison, she managed to move to be with her family in Poland. However, her husband, Siarhei, remains in a Belarusian penal colony.
- I was told that if I didn’t sign a confession, a person very close to me would not be released. My principles were not as important to me then as that person. I couldn't allow their sentence to be extended, so I wrote the confession - Kanavalava explains.
- I was sitting in an officer's office, with tears in my eyes, writing that I confess to the crime, and she said to me: you probably don't want to write this? And I sat, nodded my head, and said I do - she recounts with a voice trembling from emotion.
The woman added that the aforementioned officer later explained to her that "it's just a piece of paper" and "not worth worrying about."
Shocking account from Belarus. These are the methods used by Lukashenko's regime
The woman also shared the story of another female prisoner. - She told me her story, when they put nooses around her children's necks, and ordered her to fall to her knees, saying that if she didn't sign the documents, her children would die before her eyes - Kanavalava says.
- Then it dawned on me that my situation was nothing compared to hers. But you don’t forget. You remember signing that confession, which you didn’t want to sign. But I don’t regret it - she concludes.
