"The lawyer cheated my wife." Legendary drummer from the marches Aliaksei Sanchuk told how he served a long six years and what cannot be kept silent about

"We ran towards each other"

Aliaksei Sanchuk was released on July 6. By the 9th, he was supposed to report to the police and register for prophylactic supervision. Overnight, the musician decided to leave Belarus and at seven in the morning, he left the country – a few hours before his scheduled appearance at the district police department.

"I was told that they might later close the exit. Perhaps it wouldn't have happened, but I didn't want to risk it," he says.

On his first day of freedom, Sanchuk first wanted to hug his mother. Of the three days after his release, he spent two and a half with her. Then he spent several hours talking to his wife and walking around Minsk, looking at the city, which had changed over six years. But more than new buildings and electric cars, the people impressed him.

"They became scared, angry. Some acquaintances stopped talking to me because they are afraid. You feel like an outcast in your own country," he says.

When Sanchuk did not report to the police on July 9, officers began searching for him through his family. His wife was summoned to the district police department several times and asked about her husband's whereabouts. Once, police officers called her posing as car buyers, after the woman had posted an ad for its sale on "Kufar."

"She came down, and there were two officers: 'Let's go to the district police department.' So they took her away in her slippers for two hours. The child was left alone. They probably don't care about that," Aliaksei recounts.

On the last night before his wife and daughter's departure, unknown individuals called the intercom and demanded to open the door.

"They showed up three times already. My daughter started to panic, my wife too. I can't imagine what would have happened if they had stayed. What Belarus has turned into over these six years," he says.

After his release, Sanchuk did not manage to see his daughter in Belarus – the girl was with her grandmother. For the first time after six years, they met in Georgia:

"She recognized me. We often talked on the phone from the colony. At the airport, we ran towards each other."

At the beginning of his imprisonment, Aliaksei was still allowed long visits. Then they were shortened from three days to one, and later they were stopped altogether.

"They didn't sign any statements. And if you were persistent, they could put you in SHIZA," he explains.

Павялічыць

Beating after detention

Aliaksei was detained on November 4, 2020, during a rehearsal of drummers who performed at protest rallies. Armed GUBOP (Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption) officers entered the premises. A total of 16 people were detained and taken to the district police department along with their drums. There, Sanchuk refused to give his phone number. He was taken to an office where three plainclothes officers were present.

"They started kicking me in the chest, in the stomach — wherever. For several months afterward, it was hard to breathe. Most likely, there was a crack in my rib cage," he recounts.

After the beating, the musician gave the number. Then he was placed in a separate cell:

"They didn't feed me, didn't give me water. I just sat there for another day or so after the beating."

Sanchuk was assigned 15 days of administrative arrest, but on the 14th day, he was taken away by GUBOP officers who initiated a criminal case. The interrogation lasted about 12 hours. Aliaksei sat handcuffed in a cage, while the investigator presented the official version of events.

"I was thrown out of this life"

After the interrogation, Sanchuk was sent to the Minsk pre-trial detention center on Valadarskaha Street. He spent the first three weeks in a solitary cell.

"I heard the city living. And I was thrown out of that city life. As if they had forgotten about me," he says.

In the pre-trial detention center, Aliaksei was tried to be placed in a cell with people of so-called low social status. Other prisoners warned that this could permanently change his position in the prison hierarchy. Sanchuk refused to stay in the cell and declared a hunger strike. After a conversation with an operational officer, he was left in a regular cell.

In May 2021, the Maskoŭski District Court of Minsk sentenced Sanchuk to six years in a reinforced regime colony. He was found guilty under parts 1 and 2 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code — for organizing, preparing, and actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order; under part 3 of Article 293 — for training or other preparation of people for participation in mass riots; as well as under Article 13 and part 2 of Article 293 — for preparing for participation in mass riots.

The prosecution alleged that Sanchuk participated in protests, walked onto the roadway, shouted slogans, clapped his hands, and waved a white-red-white flag. The investigation also believed that he trained other participants in the protests and created a chat for coordinating actions.

The car Aliaksei used to come to the march was confiscated as a means of committing a crime. He and other defendants were also presented with a claim for 161,900 rubles in favor of "Minsktrans." Aliaksei's parents and wife paid the money. The debt was settled approximately one year before his release.

Павялічыць

"Even the lawyer deceived my wife"

According to Sanchuk, he was virtually unprepared for the trial. He chose the lawyer himself: he had seen her earlier at an acquaintance's trial and hoped she could build a worthy defense. However, as Aliaksei claims, she did not discuss strategies with him, did not explain how to behave in court, and did not help formulate his position.

"I myself suggested some versions of how to build a defense, and she said: 'Relax, rest, everything will be fine.' In fact, no one prepared me for court. The lawyer's surname is Batsyuk," he recounts.

Sanchuk tried to refuse the lawyer's services. But, according to him, she convinced his wife that he was supposedly in an unstable state and did not realize what he was doing. The lack of preparation became evident at the very beginning of the trial when the judge asked Sanchuk if he pleaded guilty.

When the verdict was announced — six years in a reinforced regime colony — Aliaksei felt disappointment and helplessness first and foremost.

"The Tenth Prophylactic Record"

During his imprisonment in PC No. 17, Sanchuk spent about nine months in SHIZA (punishment isolation cell) and PKT (cell-type premises), four of which were in cell-type premises. He was on prophylactic record as "prone to extremism." In the colony, this was called the "tenth prophylactic record."

"Other prisoners were told not to communicate with us, not to eat, not to talk, to avoid us," he explains.

In the colony, the musician worked in various productions. Prisoners disassembled old wires to extract copper and lead, while the plastic insulation was burned in a furnace. Later, the musician worked in a woodworking shop, sewed and ironed clothes, and manufactured military boots. Prisoners were paid around 25-30 rubles a month.

Political prisoners were forbidden from visiting the stadium, church, and library; they were checked more often, forced to listen to lectures and watch war films. A curator was assigned to each of them. In the cells and units, there were recruited prisoners who conveyed the content of conversations to the administration.

Six years of waiting

Sanchuk hoped until the very end that he would not serve the entire term:

"Every day I waited for something. I lived only for the support of my wife, daughter, mother, and father. The life of a political prisoner consists of waiting for letters and calls."

When other political prisoners began to be released from the colony, hope emerged that he would be next. Approximately two years before the end of his term, Aliaksei was offered to write a petition for pardon addressed to Alexander Lukashenka. The text was prepared in advance – he just needed to rewrite and sign it. Sanchuk agreed.

"I had already served four years. I wanted to get to my family sooner. My daughter is growing up without a father. This was a chance," he says.

But he was not released.

Health problems

Over six years, Sanchuk's health significantly deteriorated. Now he needs several operations. After the beating, his nasal septum was damaged. In the colony, astigmatism began to develop, and he developed varicose veins and problems with his veins. Aliaksei also discovered a benign tumor.

As a result of untreated inflammation, he partially lost his hearing. Now he constantly has ringing in his ears, and with one ear, he doesn't hear a significant portion of sounds.

Павялічыць

"I would do the same"

Before his detention, Sanchuk worked as a furniture maker, designed kitchens, and was an individual entrepreneur. By education, he is a construction technician.

He went to the protests because he couldn't stand to watch the violence. He participated in bike rallies, engaged in volunteering, and played drums. At one of the rallies, he met other drummers with whom he later rehearsed.

Aliaksei does not regret his participation in the protests.

"I would have done the same thing. Only more prepared and more careful about safety," he says.

Now Aliaksei plans to move to Poland. He wants to change his profession and see the world with his wife and daughter – to travel as much as possible.

"I had to flee Belarus via Russia – with one backpack, without means. But I am alive. One must fight, no matter how difficult it is," he concludes.

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