Following in the footsteps of Mother Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko (Belarusian: Alyaksandr Lukashenka) — presumptive president of Belarus — has been waging war on journalists, accusing them of “extremism.” And he seems to be particularly fixated on journalists from RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

He has gone so far as to air a series on the state’s TV station ONT . . . ironically titled Svaboda Slova (“Freedom of Speech”), but in fact, a blatant burlesque of bullshit propaganda about RFE/RL journalists accused by his regime of trying to “set Belarus on fire.” [RFE/RL, January 17, 2025.]

Hostages Andrey Kuznechyk and Ihar Losik have previously had the “honor” of joining our list of political prisoners being held in Russian, Belarusian, Crimean and Azerbaijani prisons.

The 20-minute presentation on January 16th — No. 3 in the series — featured former RFE/RL Belarusian Service journalist Ihar Karney, who has been detained since 2023 and was finally tried in March of 2024, when he was sentenced to a prison term of three years on that very charge. [Id.]

Karney appeared in the video “thin, stooping, and obviously exhausted, being led to an interview in handcuffs, which were taken off as he was pressed against a wall. He was filmed in the courtyard of a KGB detention facility wearing a black prison jacket and knitted cap, his breath visible in the freezing air.” [Id.]

It is not known what, if anything, Karney said during the filming, as RFE/RL’s policy precludes quoting of statements made by imprisoned people under duress. And there is no question — none whatsoever — that Ihar Karney has been subjected to severe mistreatment during his incarceration.

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No sooner had I finished reading about episode No. 3 of Lukashenko’s horror series than along came No. 4: Yuras Zyankovich, a dual U.S.-Belarusian citizen and lawyer, currently serving a sentence of eleven years in a maximum-security penal colony. [RFE/RL, January 17, 2025.]

Zyankovich’s presentation was staged differently from the others. He was shown dressed in a suit and pressed shirt, seated in a comfortable room with coffee on a table and traffic moving outside a nearby window.

His legal status was not explained. But he was introduced as an “American lawyer, political scientist, and expert,” in an interview conducted by notorious propagandist Andrey Alyaksandrau (a.k.a. Kozel) — well-known for accompanying security forces during arrests of political dissidents. [Id.]

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This parade of prisoners comes to us with the compliments of Belarusian dictator Lukashenko on the eve of the presidential election scheduled for January 26th. His legitimacy as “president” is not universally recognized due to the, shall we say, irregularities in the last previous election; and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the upcoming election also cannot be considered free or fair because of the “repressive environment” in Belarus . . . a true masterpiece of understatement. [Id.]

Even Vladimir Putin — the poster child for oppressive, tyrannical, totalitarian rule — hasn’t stooped to parading his prisoners in front of the camera to demonstrate his authority and strike fear into the hearts of others who may consider speaking out against him. It takes a lot to outdo Putin’s vicious nature; but Lukashenko has done it.

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And with that, we once again pay our weekly tribute to the hostages living in unimaginable horror, praying for release. With our two new additions, they are:

David Barnes
Gordon Black
Marc Fogle
Robert Gilman
Stephen James Hubbard
Ksenia Karelina
Ihar Karney (in Belarus)
Vadim Kobzev
Andrey Kuznechyk (in Belarus)
Michael Travis Leake
Aleksei Liptser
Ihar Losik (in Belarus)
Daniel Martindale
Farid Mehralizada (in Azerbaijan)
Igor Sergunin
Robert Shonov
Eugene Spector
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland
Vladislav Yesypenko (in Crimea)
Yuras Zyankovich (in Belarus)

We must not forget them — not until the last one is returned safely home.

Godspeed.

Brendochka
1/19/25