How to survive in hell: Belarusian prison reality guide (part 2)

One moment you’re standing up for freedom and democracy, the next you’re sentenced to 15 days’ detention. Unimaginable? Not in Belarus.

This is the story of a woman who lived through that experience twice and transformed it into a guide to surviving Belarusian prison.

This is the second episode of the mini-series, covering arrest and trial.

If you want to learn more about Belarus’ struggle for freedom, you may enjoy Aliaksei Paluyan's 2021 documentary 'Courage' and Krzysztof Lukaszewicz's 2013 drama 'Viva Belarus'.

Also, read the today's statement by international and Belarusian rights groups calling to end the ill-treatment of Maria Kalesnikava and all the other political prisoners: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/06/12/belarus-stop-ill-treatment-opposition-politician

Want to support the cause and express your solidarity? Here are some ways you can do that:

• Write a letter to a political prisoner: https://spring96.org/en/news/101367

• DissidentBY: https://dissidentby.com/en, a non-profit initiative supporting political prisoners.

• BY_help: https://www.belarus97.pro/eng, a civic campaign supporting dissidents and their families.

• Politvyazynka: https://m.facebook.com/100085144390317/ and https://www.instagram.com/politvyazynka/, an activist project highlighting female political prisoners.

Learn more about the Akrestsina pre-trial detention centre: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okrestina

Belarusians singing ‘Peremen’ by Kino, which became the anthem of the democratic opposition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMdrQvQRFzM

To avoid missing out on the remaining survival guide chapters, subscribe to our podcast and automatically have new episodes appear in your feed.