Actor Aliaksandr Zhdanovich talks about the patronage of political prisoner Ekaterina Bakhvalova (Andreeva) as part of the information campaign of our Foundation and the Dissidentby initiative "Until All are free."
"Back in 2020, when people began to be imprisoned en masse for political reasons, I started writing letters to prisoners. That's how my correspondence with Katsiaryna Andreyeva-Bakhvalava, a journalist from Belsat, began. Later, I got to know her family: her grandmother Ala Mikalaeuna, grandfather Siarhei Vahanav, and husband Ihar Ilyash. So when I was approached with the proposal to become a guardian for someone among the political prisoners, I had no doubt whom to choose.
Taking care of political prisoners is important for many reasons: to support in them the belief that they are remembered; to let those who serve the criminal regime know that crimes and abuses against prisoners are known to the wider public. This needs to be done for oneself and for those who feel powerless to influence the situation in the country.
I maintain relations with Katsiaryna's relatives, I tell them about what is happening to her in the colony through social networks, at public events."
Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) is a journalist for the Belsat channel. She was arrested after live-streaming a brutal crackdown on protesters at "Square of Changes" in Minsk. Initially, she was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for allegedly "organizing and preparing activities that grossly violate public order." Shortly after, another criminal trial took place, resulting in Katsiaryna being sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in prison allegedly for "treason."
Aliaksandr Zhdanovich is an actor in theater, cinema, and television, known as Malyavanych from "Kalyhanka."
"Back in 2020, when people began to be imprisoned en masse for political reasons, I started writing letters to prisoners. That's how my correspondence with Katsiaryna Andreyeva-Bakhvalava, a journalist from Belsat, began. Later, I got to know her family: her grandmother Ala Mikalaeuna, grandfather Siarhei Vahanav, and husband Ihar Ilyash. So when I was approached with the proposal to become a guardian for someone among the political prisoners, I had no doubt whom to choose.
Taking care of political prisoners is important for many reasons: to support in them the belief that they are remembered; to let those who serve the criminal regime know that crimes and abuses against prisoners are known to the wider public. This needs to be done for oneself and for those who feel powerless to influence the situation in the country.
I maintain relations with Katsiaryna's relatives, I tell them about what is happening to her in the colony through social networks, at public events."
Katsiaryna Bakhvalava (Andreyeva) is a journalist for the Belsat channel. She was arrested after live-streaming a brutal crackdown on protesters at "Square of Changes" in Minsk. Initially, she was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for allegedly "organizing and preparing activities that grossly violate public order." Shortly after, another criminal trial took place, resulting in Katsiaryna being sentenced to 8 years and 3 months in prison allegedly for "treason."
Aliaksandr Zhdanovich is an actor in theater, cinema, and television, known as Malyavanych from "Kalyhanka."
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