Inside Belarus's prisons: Coerced confessions under Lukashenko
Belarusian Antanina Kanavalava, in an interview with Biełsat, spoke about the methods used by the regime of Alexander Lukashenko to coerce innocent prisoners into "confessing to crimes." From her account, it appears that the methods used in Belarus have changed little from those employed during the Soviet Union era.
Kanavalava spent over four years in a penal colony. After leaving prison, she successfully relocated to her family in Poland. However, her husband, Siarhei, remains in a Belarusian penal colony.
- I was told that if I didn't sign a confession, a person very close to me wouldn't be released. My principles were not as important to me then as that person was. I couldn't allow their sentence to be extended, so I wrote the confession - Kanavalava explains.
- I was sitting in an officer's office, tears in my eyes, writing that I confess to the crime, and she said to me: you probably don't want to write this? And I sat, nodded my head, and said I do - she recounts with a voice trembling from emotion.
The woman added that the officer later explained to her that "it's just a piece of paper" and "not worth worrying about."
Shocking account from Belarus: These are the methods used by Lukashenko's regime
The woman also shared the story of another female prisoner. - She told me her story, when they put nooses around her children's necks, and ordered her to fall to her knees, saying that if she didn't sign the documents, her children would die before her eyes - Kanavaława says.
- Then it dawned on me that my situation was nothing compared to hers. But you don't forget. You remember signing that confession, which you didn't want to sign. But I don't regret it - she concludes.
