Prisoners In Belarus Get A Lift From Postcard Project
A postcard by Tsikhan Klyukach. A Minsk court found Klyukach guilty of conducting activities that disrupted public order after he painted slogans against strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994. The drawings are usually provided by the relatives of political prisoners, but sometimes they are shared by people who are in touch with inmates. Then, the Free Postcards team turns these drawings and quotes into postcards.
The project team initially started with 10 postcard designs based on drawings by political prisoners. "At first it was just a nice idea. The initial batch was provided by a girl who writes a lot with political prisoners. Then, the idea grew into a project to support political prisoners, called Free Postcards. Now, we make not only postcards, but we make T-shirts and bags with prints, sets of postcards, organize various events," says Darya, a project volunteer.
The text on the T-shirt says, "We don't give up, and you should not give up". Ongoing protests have rocked Belarus since Lukashenka was officially announced as the winner of an August 9, 2020, presidential election, which is widely seen as rigged and has not been recognized by Western governments.
A postcard by Ihar Losik. The Belarusian blogger and RFE/RL consultant was detained in June 2020 and accused of using his popular Telegram channel to "prepare to disrupt public order." On December 14, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. RFE/RL President Jamie Fly called on the Lukashenka regime to end its "reprehensible" treatment of Losik and other journalists.
Darya says that the volunteers have received a lot of grateful feedback from prisoners, including praise for their work from jailed would-be presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka.
Exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya shows a postcard from the Free Postcards project at Germany's Reichstag in Berlin.
A drawing by Maksim Znak. The opposition figure was sentenced to 10 years in prison on September 6 after being found guilty on charges of conspiracy to seize power, calls for action to damage national security, and calls for actions damaging national security by trying to create an extremist group. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it a "politically motivated conviction and shameful sentencing" on "bogus" charges.
The text on the postcard says: "I don't want to work today so much... Almost the same as yesterday."
A postcard by Lyavon Khalatran. He was a volunteer with Viktar Babaryka's presidential campaign who was arrested in August 2020 and charged with public order violations. Khalatran was sentenced to two years in a penal facility.
The text reads: "This postcard served as a coffee coaster for a week. You can use it in the same way, and it’s like we will have coffee together." The Free Postcards project is run by 12 volunteers, and they would welcome more.
A drawing by Anastasia Mirontseva. The art student was detained in October 2020 along with her sister and accused of actions that grossly violate public order.
It is possible to get a postcard by donating at least 5 euros on the BySOL website.
A postcard by Kasia Budzko, an activist from the the Belarusian Students Association who was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after her arrest in November 2020. She was charged with actions that grossly violate public order but is considered a political prisoner.
The text on the postcard reads, "Freedom, bread, salt."
This year, the project team made a special advent calendar with the drawings of political prisoners. "Each day has a drawing and a task to do, thus expressing solidarity with political prisoners," Darya explains.
Darya says that it is possible to send a postcard with simple text to political prisoners in Belarus by using websites like Pismo.bel or Vkletochku.org. "Maybe you'll soon start receiving answers, and you will have a new passion for writing letters back," she says.