August 12, 2020, 12:56, Radio Svaboda
In an interview with “Svaboda,” Chairman of the Viasna Human Rights Centre Ales Bialiatski compared the actions taken by the law enforcement agencies against the citizens of Belarus with genocide, and detention facilities with concentration camps.
“Undoubtedly, the law enforcers got carte blanche to do it,” believes the human rights activist. “The bullying and the torture are unheard-of, especially at the detention center on Akrescina Street, at the isolation centers for offenders, and at the temporary detention facilities. People get beaten up and confined in overcrowded cells. On admission, or now as they are released, they are beaten to unconsciousness. This is done by special forces, namely riot police and internal troops. They were given direct orders to torture people. This is our reality…”
Ales Bialiatski adds that Viasna Human Rights Center website provides instructions on what to do in case of an attack, detention, or torture by the government security officers, as well as information on legal mechanisms that can be used. He stresses that the most important thing is not to keep one’s story a secret but to share it as widely as possible across media and social networks.
“Get in touch with journalists and human rights defenders, register the beatings to have a documental proof of the violations,” continues Ales Bialiatski. “It is unlikely that justice is possible within this system, but the whole world should be aware of what’s going on. And if there is such evidence, the time will come, and all those responsible will be brought to justice. After all, it is clear that everything is authorized by the top tier. Our task is to find out who is the organizer and performer of these actions. This is not just a violation of service instructions, but a crime at a completely different level.”
Not only the protesters are attacked by the police. Government security officers deliberately track down random people. And then for several days, they don’t provide any information about people that are missing, citizens that were literally abducted in peacetime.
“The worst thing is that suffering and humiliation do not end there. The real hell begins at the places of temporary detention,” says Ales Bialiatski. “People get beaten up for no reason, they are stripped naked. Fifty men and women are stuffed together in a cell meant for 4-6 people. Guards pour chlorine into the cells, don’t let people sleep, don’t give them water to drink. If not torture, what is it? Today the prison in Akrescina Street has turned into a real concentration camp, and this is no exaggeration”.
Thousands of people were detained during the three days of protests in different cities of Belarus. On August 9, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this number exceeded 3000, the next day it was about 2000, more than 1000 people were detained on the night of August 12.
