Journalist Natalia Radzina, who was beaten and imprisoned following last year’s disputed election, explains why she fled Belarus seeking political asylum

Those months seemed endless to me, because there’s nothing more tedious than waiting, especially in isolation. It’s easy to explain my long journey: after a month and a half in a KGB prison, I wasn’t given my passport back. This is totally illegal — while released on bail before a trial, the defendant must be given back all their documents. But Belarus’s KGB is known to spit at such laws.

Even before the authorities called me in for questioning in Minsk, they made it clear that they had decided to shut the charter97 website down once and for all. After my release from KGB jail, I was constantly threatened with being sent back to a cell in Americanka [a notorious KGB prison in central Minsk] when it became obvious that my arrest and the subsequent pressure on me was not having the desired effect: the site continued to be independent. My “guilt” was worsened by the fact that I was part of Andrei Sannikov’s election team, when he ran for president. Lukashenko’s regime cracked down hardest on the Sannikov people.

In fact, I was not really scared by the jail itself. Other things were worse: it was clear that officials won’t allow me to work in Belarus, no way. That became obvious in March 2010, after the pogrom on our office and the first criminal case. Then they launched the second criminal case, then the third and finally, the fourth — for the events of 19 December 2010.

A KGB colonel threatened me with five years in prison just for publishing the presidential candidates’ calls to protest peacefully in Independence Square against the falsification of election results. The fact that I refused to cooperate with the so-called “investigative body”, in other words to inform on my colleagues and write petitions to Lukashenko, was another aggravating circumstance. As he said, I was “frostbitten”.

After my release from prison, it became clear the authorities would not leave me alone, even in exile in Kobrin [Radzina’s hometown]. After every critical article Charter 97 published, a police car used to come to my parents’ house and drive me to the local KGB office, where I was threatened with an immediate return to prison.

Hence, when an investigator called and ordered me to come for questioning in Minsk, I saw my chance to leave the territory of Kobrin. I notified the local policeman that I was leaving to go to the capital for questioning, I took the train Brest-Minsk. Early in the morning, around 1 am, I got off at Luninets station, where the train has the longest stop and passengers frequently visit a local buffet. At the station I was greeted by friends, and I went on to Moscow by car. By 1 April I was already beyond the territory of Belarus and I could congratulate Belarus’s KGB on April Fool’s Day for their professionalism.

I could not go public in Russia. Belarus’s authorities would demand my extradition immediately. Besides, there was another, even more unpleasant option. It has been an open secret for a long time that Belarusian secret services quietly work in Russia. The absence of formal borders between our two countries allows them to kidnap people from Moscow’s streets, and then they fill out the papers as if they were detained in Belarus. Human rights advocates claim this was the case with the anarchist Igor Olinevich, who later was sentenced to eight years in prison.

In Moscow, my main problem was obtaining documents, as without them I could not legally leave Russian territory.

I sought help from the Russian Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. I completed all the necessary formal procedures, and since my case was well documented, my relocation to a third country was examined on a priority basis. While these months have been the most difficult of my life, I have nothing to complain about. Usually, the asylum procedure takes up to two years.

Only a small number of human rights activists and politicians knew I was in Russia, and they gave me all possible support. The person who helped me the most in Moscow, Gannushkina Svetlana Aleskeevna, was a member of the President of the Russian Federation’s Human Rights Council, a founding member of Human Rights Centre Memorial and she’s chairwoman of Civic Assistance. This organisation is hugely effective, they really save people. I saw it when I used to go to a small basement on Dolgorukovskaya street to visit the office of Civic Assistance. Huge numbers of refugees from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and other dysfunctional countries come to the office. Even though the refugees outnumber the members of this human rights organisation hundreds of times over, each of them gets support.

I am very grateful to the readers of Charter97, who stayed with us during us all this difficult time. Your comments supported me a lot during this time of isolation. During these months I lived at my friend’s apartment in Moscow, I continued my work as the editor of Charter97.org website and tried not to appear in public places.

Once I was recognised as a refugee by the UN, the first nation that gave me international support was the Netherlands. On 28 July, after I got my travel documents, I flew from Moscow to Amsterdam. I am very grateful to the Netherlands for my salvation, but three days later I went to Lithuania. After the presidential elections the Charter97.org website was registered in this country; it’s where my team is based and I can carry out my work as editor. On 4 August, I claimed political asylum in Lithuania.

During all these months, I experienced the hardship of life as a refugee. And I can say directly — there is nothing to envy. I would never have left Belarus, if, as Vysotsky sang, they had not “surrounded me from all sides”.  I reacted as I considered appropriate. I don’t intend to play by the rules defined by the Belarusian KGB. To “rush hunted to the shot” is not in my nature, and therefore I tried “to jump through.” I am sure I’ll be back home soon, and the new democratic government of the country will hand me back my Belarusian passport.

Natalia Radzina was nominated for the Bindmans Law and Campaigning Award at the 2010 Index on Censorship awards. This piece was originally published on Nikolai Khalezin’s blog. This article was translated and edited by Olga Birukova.

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Seven presidential candidates beaten and jailed, 26 journalists detained, 20 more injured. 639 protesters detained, hundreds beaten. The above is one way to briefly describe Belarus’s presidential elections on 19 December. The authorities provided other figures Much less striking figures: 90.65 per cent of population voted — 79.65 per cent of them for President Alexander Lukashenko. The statistics aren’t credible.

At Lukashenko’s first postelection press conference on 20 December he promised to crack down on internet freedom and “put an end to this stupid democracy”. So far he has kept his promise: a huge number of homes and offices have been searched. Equipment has been confiscated from Belarus’s NGOs and the independent media, including EU-funded Belsat, Euroradio, private Nasha Niva and others. The private flats of journalists and activists have been carefully combed.

On 29 December about 300 detainees were released after serving their full 10-day term. Around 300 have longer sentences. They will spend the New Year in prison. Another 26 people are still being held in KGB detention center. Among them are seven presidential candidates and members of their campaign teams, journalists Natalya Radzina (www.charter.97.org), Irina Khalip (from Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, she is also wife of Andrei Sannikov, who ran for presidency this year. Nasta Palajanka who is just 20 years old and helps run the opposition “Young Front”. They all are accused of  participating and organising mass disorder (article 293 of Belarus Criminal Code). If convicted they face spending up to 15 years in jail.

Strangely, this election result follows a three-year strategy of regime democratisation and the EU’s attempts “to tame monster Lukashenko”.

Even in Belarus, nobody expected such a twist. The ten wannabe presidents enjoyed relative freedom during electoral campaign, without any illusion about their popularity amongst the Belarusian people. But on election night the police used stun grenades and beat severely people during the final cleaning of the Nezalejnasci Square (Independence Square).

The rally was announced widely. After previous elections (2006, 2004) similar events gathered between 5-10,000 people. According my sources at least 15-20,000 people gathered together 19 December. Some reports had the crowd peaking at 40,000. According to Svaboda radio, at around 10pm a group of unknown people — widely believed to be state agents provocateurs — began to smash windows. This was the trigger for the riot police to sweep in.  Within an hour central Minsk was fully controlled by the militia and the military.

Why did Lukashenko choose now to give up “democratic decorations”? All Russian and Belarusian language analysis I read asks the same question.

Theories abound, some believe the 19 December operation was planned well in advance and just marked a start of new phase of a dictatorship which doesn’t need masks any more, and no longer cares about how its viewed in the west. According to this theory the goal was to terrify the average citizen in order to prevent future civil protests rest future and, possibly, to freeze developing relations with EU.

Others point out that several huge privatisations of state infrastructure are planned for 2011 in Belarus, giving the current team a incentive to stay in power at any price in order to receive the “benefits”. These theorists point out that to ensure a smooth redistribution Lukashenko will need to ensure both the media and civil movements are muted.

Riot police targeted and fought with media. They smashed cameras, directly attacked and jailed journalists, even those who had international accreditation, which normally serves as a “universal pass” in any situation in any country.

Journalists from Polish Gazeta Wyborcza, France Press, US-funded Liberty radio, Russia’s Novaya Gazeta as well as a number of leading Belarus journalists were detained albeit some very briefly. Correspondents from Associated Press, New York Times, Deutcshe Welle also reported injuries.

And yet, journalists kept working, uploading many frank and shocking reports. I could hardly believe my eyes watching recent video from Belarus. I have never seen before police beating so violently girls collapsed on the ground, while their friends desperately tried to cover their bodies. Bare hands against batons of professionals, bodies on the ground, blood on the snow and broken bones — this is the picture of elections 2010.

Belarusian activists beg the international community not to remain indifferent, they ask: “Will you, please, appeal to your national governments to condemn the actions of Belarusian authorities and TERMINATE ANY RELATIONS with the FASCIST regime in Belarus. Will you, please, address to the Belarusian state authorities and the diplomatic representations in your countries with a demand to release immediately ALL participants of peaceful protest actions in Minsk, including journalists and alternative Presidential candidates and to STOP repression in relation to the people that do not support the incumbent regime in Belarus. It is only COMMON EFFORTS that can improve the situation in Belarus”, reads a letter circulated on the web.

Will you?

Olga Birukova is a Belarusian journalist based in London

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The Belarus Free Theatre is a high-profile thorn in the side of Alyaksandr Lukaskenko’s authoritarian regime. On 5 December, Index on Censorship hosted a double-bill performance by the Free Theatre at the Young Vic with guest appearances from Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Sienna Miller, Samuel West and Adjoa Andoh. Koliada speculated that arresting Khalezin may be an attempt by the authorities to stop a forthcoming performance in New York.

Khalezin is not just a cultural figure in Belarus. Before founding the Belarus Free Theatre with his wife, he was a renowned journalist. He was sacked from various newspapers for articles criticising the authoritarian leadership of President Lukashenko. Whilst a journalist, Khalezin mentored Natalia Radzina and Oleg Bebenin. Bebenin, a civil society activist, was found dead in suspicious circumstances just three months before the elections. Khalezin conducted the wake which brought together many from the opposition in Belarus including presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov and former President Stanislav Shushkevich. Radzina, the editor of the Charter97 website faces up to 15 years in prison after she was charged with organising a mass riot under Article 293 of the criminal code.

There are fears that Nikolai may be subject to the same charges brought against Radzina and other opposition activists. Charter97 report she has only just met with a lawyer, who saw blood dripping from her ears. Radzina was beaten by police prior to her arrest. Twenty three people are currently being detained by the KGB under Article 293 of the Belarusian Criminal Code; Charter97′s entire editorial team are in detention alongside presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov and Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu (the President of Belarusian PEN). You can see the full list of those detained here.

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We don’t have independent TV channels, or radio stations. Most of the free newspapers have been closed. TV journalist Zmitser Zavadski, who had at one time been a Lukashenka’s personal cameraman, was abducted and killed. Journalist Veranika Charkasova, who investigated ties between the Belarusian regime and the regime of Saddam Hussein, was murdered. Some of my colleagues were sentenced to restriction of liberty for criticizing Lukashenka in their articles. Pavel Mazheika, Viktor Ivashkevich, and Mikalai Markevich served two years of compulsory labour for this. This is a Soviet-style form of punishment — one has to live in a prison-like guarded facility, which is situated far from home as a rule, and do low-paid work, for example tree cutting.

Until recently, the internet was the only source of true information. But now the dictatorship has decided to deprive the Belarusians of an opportunity to learn the truth about the events in the country.

Two criminal cases have been opened against the Belarusian opposition’s most popular internet-resource charter97.org (which I work for). In March our office was raided and eight computers were seized. I was beaten by a masked police man. They didn’t introduce themselves; they just burst into my apartment and hit me in the face.

I am called in for interrogation all the time. It’s annoying and hinders my work. This is the aim of the authorities. Two criminal cases have been initiated against Charter 97, in connection with articles about the corruption among high officials, who had allegedly defamed a KGB regional head, and readers’ comments on the articles on our website.

I believe the attack on charter97.org is related to the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for early 2011. The authorities are afraid of the growing popularity of independent internet resources. The people, tired of lies of the official media, are looking for the truth.

Our website was attacked just after an interview with Andrei Sannikov, the European Belarus civil campaign leader, had been published, where he announced his decision to run for presidency. It’s no coincidence that Andrei Sannikov’s wife journalist Iryna Khalip is also a witness in the criminal case over “libel” against A KGB officer.

Lukashenka has a great fear of the upcoming presidential elections, the greatest fear he has ever had. He knows he lost the people’s support long ago, and realises what a dangerous exercise rigging election results for 17 years is. This fear means he could do anything.

Lukashenka’s decree on the Internet comes into force on 1 July. Under the decree, all opposition internet resources can be closed and journalists arrested.

Anything may happen to me and my fellow journalists. We need the solidarity of journalists, human rights activists, politicians, and people all over the world. The silence of the European Union, which doesn’t react to the outrageous situation in Belarus, insults us and all those who stand for European values.

Belarus doesn’t have oil and gas, but 10 million people live there. London has almost the same population. Imagine the same things are happening to you and your families, while the world stands idly by and says “at least people aren’t being killed in the streets.” Maybe Europe wants us to be murdered?

Natalia Radzina is editor of charter97.org

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