“A joker, a poet and an idealist”

“Andrei Aliaksandrau is a merry fellow and a joker, a manager and a poet, an idealist and a pragmatist all rolled into one. He is persistent in defending his point of view, direct in his convictions and sensitive to falsehood. I didn’t like arguing with him because he’s stubborn. I always knew I could count on him because he’s honest.

“Aliaksandrau is a knight, a romantic. In company he jokes and chats a lot – but it never tires. It’s fun with him.

“At one time, we gathered for poetry readings at our house. I remember once Andrei brought a jar of pickles made by his mother. They were the most delicious pickles I had ever tasted.

“It is too painful to think that now I can’t call Andrei and our friend Ales Lipai (he died in the summer of 2018) and say, “Guys, let’s get together on Saturday!” and start discussing a topic for the meeting. Aliaksandrau would not like my topic. He would suggest another one. We would have a friendly row for a while and would conclude to sort it out at the meeting place. I would say, ‘OK, Aliaksandrau. We are looking forward to you on Saturday at six!’ And I would know that Andrei would come on time.

Belarus: An open letter from Andrei Aliaksandrau on his day in court

Andrei Aliaksandrau before his detention

Dear friends

For the four months since the final charge was brought against me, I have hardly received any letters and I don’t know if my letters reach those I continue to write regularly to; more or less stable postal communications remain only with my parents.

But I know and feel your support from rare, undiverted carrier pigeons, regular cute sendings and delicious parcels, for which I am constantly grateful;

I know that many of my friends and colleagues were going to see me at trial in our case that begins on 6 June; but our trial will be closed “for the purpose of not disclosing a secret protected by the law”. What kind of secret this is, I don’t know yet, it is too well protected, and I have stayed in the pre-trial detention centre under investigation for even less than a year and a half; how am I to know?

Perhaps the secret is that the people who will be judged are not guilty of anything; at the very least, I will not plead guilty to what I am accused of.

I am going to the court without unnecessary illusions, but with a clear conscience, and even with excitement.

I will see at last the people dear to me; it is a pity, of course, that I will see them in the dock, but this is now a popular meeting place for good people; and I will be in this place next to good people whose friendship I am proud of.

Irina Levshina is a person with a kind heart and iron principles, a super editor, a pro of the highest level. Dima Novozhilov is exceptionally decent, dutiful, responsive and supportive (another undeniable advantage is that he is a Liverpool fan). And Irina Zlobina is a person with the most unimaginable combination of kindness, intelligence, and beauty in all its forms that I have met in my life.

I’m a happy man. Only a really lucky man could get into such high-class company. Only a really lucky man could get all of you as friends – fellow citizens, colleagues, kind and good people. Thank you for all your warmth, solidarity and support! With them, I feel absolutely calm and steady. It is a pity that I cannot personally congratulate my mother on her birthday, which she will celebrate one of these days. But we will definitely catch up. Life goes on. We go on. History – our history – keeps moving on. Nothing ends.

Let’s write further. Hugs.

Andrei

#Belarus: Andrei Aliaksandrau comes to trial

On Monday Andrei Aliaksandrau (pictured right) and Irina Zlobina, our friends in Belarus, will finally have their day in court, 511 days after they were detained by Lukashenka’s police.

It may, however, be a little misguided to believe that this will be a free and fair trial. There will be no media present. This will be a closed hearing. Their Belarussian lawyers have had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and are prohibited from speaking publicly about the trial. There will be no genuine trial, evidence taken or appeal process.

Andrei and his girlfriend Irina have been charged with treason. Their ‘crime’ was paying the fines of some of the protesters who were arrested after Lukashenka’s sham election. They weren’t even present at the demonstrations. Their potential sentence will be 15 years in a jail cell.

This travesty of justice isn’t occurring in some dim and distant land, but rather only 1,400 miles from where I currently sit.

Andrei and Irina are our friends. Andrei used to work for Index on Censorship – and if all was well, he would now be guiding our work on Ukraine and Russia, ensuring that we were providing a voice for the persecuted. Instead, he is sitting in a jail cell, with 1,214 other political prisoners waiting to learn of his fate. To learn of his partner’s fate. He may be silenced but we are not. So, we have to be his voice.

Today and every day – we are Andrei.  We are Irina.

On Monday we will be dedicating our social media to them and their story. Shining a spotlight on the ongoing repressive of Lukashenka’s regime and the effect it is having on our friends, colleagues and those who bravery inspires our work every day.

All we ask of you is a little time and some help – read Andrei and Irina’s testimony on Monday. Read the words of their friends who are scared and share their stories. Because there but for the grace of god go all of us.

500 days lost in a Belarusian prison

Andrei Aliaksandrau

Andrei’s beloved Liverpool FC has won two trophies this season and will play UEFA Champions League final at the end of May. Has he been able to follow the Reds? We simply don’t know. Credit: Andrei Aliaksandrau

Belarus journalist and human rights defender Andrei Aliaksandrau marks 500 days behind bars in his native Belarus today. The 44-year-old spent several years working with Index on Censorship, as well as coordinating the Civic Solidarity Platform, a coalition of 60 human rights groups. He is a passionate Liverpool FC supporter. He is not only our former colleague, but also our friend.

Arrested along with his girlfriend Iryna Zlobina, another political prisoner of the brutal regime of Alexander Lukashenko, Andrei faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The accusation? “Treason to the State”. He was arrested after paying off fines given to journalists and protesters who took to the streets following the fraudulent 2020 presidential election, “won” by Lukashenko.

It’s hard to imagine how Andrei feels about his freedom being deprived in such a cruel and unfair way. How many major worldwide events since January 2021 has he been prevented from following more closely? The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, the migration crisis on the border between Poland and Belarus and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Surely Andrei would be taking a stand on these matters and collaborating in some way, but that basic right was ruthlessly taken from his hands.

Has Andrei been able to follow the news surrounding his beloved Liverpool FC? The Reds narrowly missed winning the Premier League in the last round of the 2021-2022 season. “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” was chanted in unison by everyone in the Anfield stadium after the match against Wolverhampton. Given the chance, Andrei would undoubtedly have joined in. On 28 May, Liverpool faces Real Madrid in Paris, in the final of the European Champions League. Most likely, televisions in prison (if there are any) will not show the match, and our friend will not see the emotions of the game. Instead, he will have to follow it with his heart. But in fact, he might not even know that his team is playing such an important match.

Andrei was jailed just as the first Covid-19 vaccinations were becoming available. Has he even had his first jab, let alone the two or three that wider society has been offered? If not, his health is at risk in addition to his liberty.

Currently, there are more than 1,000 political prisoners in Belarus, as far as we know. As the days go by, our duty grows to do everything we can to help Andrei, Iryna and all of the others imprisoned merely for exercising their free expression. We must release them from this nightmare. There is an online petition that everyone can sign to demand Andrei and Iryna’s urgent and unconditional release. You can stand with us by signing your name alongside ours.

Sign the petition