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“They don’t believe that people can just state their will for free. For them, you have betrayed your homeland”

Marked with a red mark hit especially hard

Alexander is one of the activists of the Minsk protests, so he has felt the full force of OMON’s (riot police- August 2020) impunity. During his time in Okrestin Detention Centre its officers jumped on his broken arm, beat him terribly and shot him point blank with rubber bullets. After he left the detention centre, he underwent medical examination and wrote requests to various government bodies to bring his offenders to justice. However, it was made clear to him that if he continued pursuing this course of action he would be “holidaying” in a different place. Aleksander took the hint - the young man is in a refugee camp in Poland at the moment.

Alexander Belyakov,IT manager
Age: 22 years old
City: Minsk
When: 12.08.2020

Alexander was detained in the evening while walking home from a bus stop

Held in custody: Oktyabrsk RUVD (District Department of Internal Affairs – August 2020), Okrestin Detention Centre for several days
Medical diagnosis: Radius fracture, extensive haemorrhages of the right gluteal region, contusion of the left elbow joint and left ankle joint, haemorrhages PDF
Aftermath: Alexander received threats, moved to another country

Author: Project team August2020

Photo: Project team August2020; personal archive

Alexander is currently in a refugee camp in Poland. After leaving Okrestin Detention Centre, he was medically examined and wrote complaints to various government bodies in an attempt to hold people accountable. Alexander could not get back his passport (main form of identification in Belarus – August 2020) in the court or in the district department of internal affairs for a month. 

- The case investigator told me that if I pursue this course of action (seek justice), I will be holidaying in a different place (you get what he meant). I started receiving threats. When I got my phone back, it was broken. My google account, email and all passwords were deleted from my phone, all photos from past protest rallies were also removed. I urgently applied for a visa, bought tickets, and left. I was forced to do that. My mother, grandmother, my friends, and my girlfriend are still in Belarus. 

Alexander was an active participant of the movement for change in the country. He participated in the demonstrations before the elections. After the election on the 9th of August, he was waiting for results to come out at his polling station.
- The commission came out and told us: “Don’t you know who the president will be? Nothing has changed in 26 years, and here you are, wanting something new!”


Alexander went to the obelisk with his friends on the same evening and participated in protest rallies on Pushkinskaya Street on the 10th and 11th of August.
- I tried to participate in all rallies in Minsk and be in the front lines. Luck was on our side, we managed to hide from the police.

On the 12th of August, Alexander was also at a rally near Serebryanka (Minsk neighbourhood – August 2020). He was coming home with his girlfriend and was already near their house when they decided to take part in one more demonstration march. 


- We decided to go one last time, before heading to bed, to have a clear conscience. I parked my car further away. We stood along the road silently with flags. Nobody was shouting or throwing anything. Suddenly, two minibuses came, the doors opened, and flash-bang grenades flew out onto the bus stop (there were people there who were just going home, by the way). It became clear that we needed to leave, but my mom called and asked me to meet her from work. I returned to the bus stop, but my mom called again and told me to go home, as there were loads of buses moving in our direction

The Assault

- When I reached Sharangovich street and the parking lot there, I saw that buses with tinted glass and no plates were driving into the courtyards of apartment complexes. People in the buses were wearing all black and had no identification signs. I still dream of that green upside-down triangle with “2083” written on it. It was not until later that I understood that it was a special forces unit. They run out shouting “Stop! We will shoot!” Of course, I did not want to end up with them, so I started running away. Since I was with my girlfriend, I was very worried about her. I thought “they better grab me than her.”   

I decided that I would run through the parking lot because it was not enclosed, and they would run after me. And so I did. Thanks to that my girlfriend was able to run to one of the courtyards and disappear from their sight. As I reached the end of the parking lot, I realized that it was not open after all. To jump over the fence was not an option so I kept running along the cars. That is where I was detained by one of the officers who must have already been waiting. 

I still dream of that green upside-down triangle with “2083” written on it. It was not until later that I understood that it was a special forces unit

- I was thrown onto the ground, there were five of them. They were beating me with legs and batons. I was trying to curl and cover my head. My legs were completely beaten off, I could not walk, so they dragged me over the ground towards the bus. I still have scars on my knees.  

Alexander says that the baton works like this: it breaks the skin and the inner layers, after which internal haemorrhages and hematomas occur. He maintains that this was a special task force, officers knew where to hit in order to immobilise and hurt while leaving very few marks. 
 

- They laid me down in the minibus, behind the driver’s seat. One of the officers stepped on me with his feet, so I would not run away and continued beating me while saying “Who pays you? What don’t you like in our country? Who do you work for? Maybe you are a coordinator and work for Poland?” Those are the questions they ask automatically; they don’t believe that people can just state their will for free. For them, you have betrayed your homeland. 

They shouted: “We will take you into the forest and throw you into the river!” There were also threats of sexual nature. My phone kept ringing. An OMON (riot police – August 2020) officer started to be annoyed by it. He took a knife and said: “Don’t move if you don’t want me to work you with this. I would not be punished for doing that.” 

And so it continued. The phone rang and Alexander kept being beaten. At some point, the officers got bored and turned the phone off. Alexander said that his hand was hurt (he still hoped to appeal to their sense of decency and compassion), but that was a mistake. 

The officer who stepped on me with his feet straightened my arm out and jumped on it five times, as a result of which I got a radius fracture. Later, I fixed it in place with my hoodie. They hit me on my heels, so that I would not be able to walk, but I was wearing sneakers with thick soles, so I did not scream - that was my second mistake. One of the officers started jumping on my leg (that must be one of the ways in which they have fun), which is why I have intense bruises in three places. I was lucky as I am quite sturdy, but it was not far from another fracture. Then the officer pressed something against my ribs and said, “If you move, I will shoot you.”
 

- Then the minibus stopped, a few more guys were thrown in and they started beating them. The guys screamed a lot, I thought they would beat them to death, and I would be next. Morally it was very difficult. 

The officer who stepped on me with his feet straightened my arm out and jumped on it five times. As a result, I got a radius fracture

They continued beating Alexander and making threats of sexual nature, such as “you will know what life in prison is like.” All those detained were delivered to the OMON and police meeting point, thrown onto the ground, and made to kneel with their heads down. 

- One of those detained started shouting: “All of you will go to prison!” He was given a warning, but he continued, and they shot at him. It was a gun with rubber bullets. Then, the same person put the gun against my left thigh and shot point-blank twice. I did not feel pain straight away, but only after the initial shock had worn off and that, trust me, was very painful. They even started kicking me, to check if I was still alive or not. 

Alexander was then escorted along the infamous corridor and hit on his legs again. He fell and could not walk any more. He was beaten once again and dragged to the police paddy wagon.
 

- My elbow accidentally hit one of the officers in the knee and it went numb. He said “Here, you hit a police officer!” and punched me in the throat four times. I was coughing up blood, they hit me again and put me into the minibus. My vision went dark, I started feeling nauseous, my body was aching. 

Blue hands in the police department

Alexander and others were taken to Oktyabrsk RUVD. There everyone was brought down on their knees and had their hands cuffed with plastic ties (similar to zip-ties). The inventory of personal belongings followed, trips to different offices and, of course, interrogations. Alexander was waiting for his turn for two hours. When the plastic ties were removed, his hands were blue and he was unable to move them. He thought they might need to be amputated. The officers moved his arms and told him to stretch his legs, so that he would be able to stand and walk on his own. Then, he was escorted to the interrogation. 


- When they unlocked my phone, they saw that I was subscribed to “Nexta” (a Telegram channel that supplied news and information about protests in the country – August 2020). I said “I also subscribe to Onliner and TUT.BY (media outlets – August 2020). They told me that I was a comedian and then beat me again. You couldn’t joke with those guys at all. I refused to sign their affidavit. At first, they tried to talk me into it, and then they started hitting my arms. “If you don’t sign, we will break your wrists” (they did not account for the fact that my hand was already broken). That is how I signed an affidavit that I haven’t seen.

Alexander was taken into a room that looked like a drama hall. He was unable to sleep because of intense pain all over his body and stayed awake, thinking all night. Only towards the morning were the victims brought water and allowed to use the bathroom. Then, they were taken to Okrestin Detention Centre. 

Okrestin Detention Centre, trial, freedom
 

- We were thrown out of the minibuses in the courtyard, where we lay in the grass for two hours. Doctors started going around and at some point, I thought I would be offered medical help. A nurse approached me, but one of the officers said, “Don’t go near him, he is marked!” I realized that I was marked with red paint (especially dangerous) only later. We were moved onto the asphalt for about two more hours and all that time I was trying to decide if it’s better to lay on the grass or on the asphalt. 

The court hearing began. It was on the third floor, where Alexander was physically unable to climb, so he was simply dragged up the stairs and placed against a window. 

- I still remember that moment: I am standing against the window with bars and see a crowd of volunteers outside. I thought that maybe my parents and my close ones were there. It was difficult not to lose morale. But I understood that physically I can live through all this, but if they break me morally that would be the end.

- The woman who was the judge said, “Take a seat!” I said that I could not sit, it was too painful. She said, “What happened to you so that you can’t sit?” I showed her my thigh and said that I was shot at point-blank twice. The judge said, “What are you making up here, you fell from a staircase during your protest and now you are trying to slander the police officers! If you don’t want to sit so be it, but afterwards you will say that you weren’t even offered a chair.” She showed me the affidavit I signed. I said that I disagree with it, and I was made to sign it. She asked for my version of events.

It was difficult not to lose morale. But I understood that physically I can live through all this, but if they break me morally that would be the end

But the judge did not want to finish listening to Alexander’s version. She said that the affidavit states that he resisted a police officer, threw stones during the protest and shouted slogans. As a result - 12 days of detainment. Alexander and 26 more people were led into a prison cell meant for five people. Instead of a toilet there was a hole in the ground covered with a piece of cardboard. He was drinking rusty water from the tap, there was no other choice. Foodwise, there was bread. Once, a soup was given but it was inedible. 

- My thigh was purple, the bruise spread onto the back and leg. Other detainees put me on the bed and gave me a few pillows. But because of intense pain I was unable to sleep.

People from higher up walked into the prison cell and asked standard questions: where, under what conditions you were detained. A nurse visited. 
 

- I showed her my thigh and asked to give me an ointment for it. There was a long silence, then “F**k, how did this happen?” Then another minute of silence. “I don’t know how to help you. Here are two band aids.”

A police officer came and said we would be let out today. We thought it was a joke or some kind of a check. By lunchtime, we were taken into the corridor where I overheard that they were releasing us under the president’s amnesty, that he was so noble, and we were lost sheep.” Alexander signed documents stating that he would never take part in protests or demonstrations again and if he were spotted there, he would receive a prison sentence. Of course, he was not handed the protocol or the documents he signed. He was hit with a baton and threatened again.  
 

 

- I did not believe that they were letting us go, my hands were shaking. But I knew that 100 badly beaten people would not be led through the main gate. They started throwing us out in city neighbourhoods that had as few pedestrians as possible. I was thrown out in Avtozavodskoy area. My friends came to pick me up. 

There was a long silence, then “F**k, how did this happen?” Then another minute of silence. “I don’t know how to help you. Here are two band aids”

I did not go home; I went to my girlfriend’s. I did not want my mother and grandmother to see me in that state. The next day I went to the hospital, wrote a statement about being beaten and underwent a medical examination. Time passes, my body is healing. Absolutely every doctor I saw said that I was lucky, if I were any shorter or thinner, it could have been much, much worse. It would also be good if I could erase those memories too.

P.S. Alexander filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee, the case was suspended. The beatings were documented. 

If you have suffered during peaceful demonstrations and are ready to tell your story, write to us at avgust2020belarus@gmail.com with the note “History”. We will contact you. thanks

Alexander Belyakov,IT manager
Age: 22 years old
City: Minsk
When: 12.08.2020

Alexander was detained in the evening while walking home from a bus stop

Held in custody: Oktyabrsk RUVD (District Department of Internal Affairs – August 2020), Okrestin Detention Centre for several days
Medical diagnosis: Radius fracture, extensive haemorrhages of the right gluteal region, contusion of the left elbow joint and left ankle joint, haemorrhages PDF
Aftermath: Alexander received threats, moved to another country