“I’ve defended what I believe in”: fate of political prisoner Aliaksandr Kashpul
- Salidarnast Belarus
- Apr 2
- 4 min read
Today, there are 29 union leaders and activists doing time in Belarusian prisons and penal colonies.”Salidarnast” continues its cycle of publications telling the stories of some of these political prisoners.
Aliaksandr Kashpul, a former legal advisor at the Polymer plant of the Naftan oil refinery, worked there for nearly 20 years. In 2020, he joined the strike action supporting the demand to have new elections in the country, stop the violence, and investigate crimes against Belarusian citizens. In February 2021, Aliaksandr was dismissed; the official grounds quoted ”absences without leave”. Following the dismissal, Kashpul joined the Belarusian Independent Union (BNP) to work as a barrister defending victims of repressions in court.
In March 2021, in his interview to “Salidarnast”, Aliaksandr said that he defended what he believed in in a manner that did not clash with the legislation:
“When laws no longer work, you are left without any rights. And, in my opinion, this situation is worse than the one you face when you lose your job. However you slice it, finding a job is easier than restoring the rule of law in the country.”
Aliaksandr Sakalau, an activist of the “Rabochy Rukh” (an initiative uniting working people in the Republic of Belarus in order to protect their civic and labour rights and freedoms – S.) says that Aliaksandr Kashpul was noticeably different from his fellow-lawyers: “He would defend the BNP members totally free of charge. He was always on the side of defendants in court, helped them with their court paperwork, always fought for the right cause. When other lawyers would say “sorry, guys, I’ve got kids to feed”, Sasha would say “it is exactly because I have kids that I am doing this: I want my children to have a happy future living in a normal country where laws do work and human rights are observed.”
In September 2021, Kashpul went to the Russian Federation in order to travel to Warsaw from there; some of the “Rabochy Rukh” members had already been arrested in Belarus and staying on in the country became risky. However, on the train to Moscow when Russian police officers were checking documents, Aliaksandr realized that, in all probability, he was going to be detained, so he jumped out of his railway car, breaking his leg and injuring his arm.
Nevertheless, Kashpul did manage to make it to the Ukrainian border some time later. But at the border crossing he was detained and transferred to Belarus where he was delivered to the KGB officers.
Later, Kashpul was sentenced to 15 years in high security prison under three Articles of the Criminal Code: illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition, and explosives; creation of an extremist entity or participation therein; and high treason. A few days before Kashpul was detained, the Belarusian authorities declared “Rabochy Rukh” to be an extremist organization.
Aliaksandr Sakalau says: “Sasha was tried, among other things, for arms trafficking. How did this article emerge? At his dacha, they allegedly found some empty shells, not even full rounds, just empty bullet casings dating back to almost the War times. And those served to up his term.”
In March 2021, a few months before his detention, Aliaksandr told “Salidarnast” that yes, of course, he felt fear with all those repressions raging in the country:
“Only those who are not quite right in their head feel no fear. What helps me out is the sense that what I am doing is right. Believing in it. In that the only possible way out to stabilize the situation in the country is to have the law back in place.
Unfortunately, at this point in time, given the current political situation, I cannot see it happening. So, this has to be changed somehow. You either change what is going on, or you have to leave the country because just going on living with all those things happening around you… Well, I don’t know how to do it; this would mean betraying my children.”
We know that when he was kept in the Homyel pre-trial detention facility Aliaksandr went on a hunger strike, protesting against violations of the law, which put him in a punitive isolation ward. And when his mother died in 2022, the political prisoner was not allowed to attend the funeral.
Aliaksandr Sakalau: “Currently, Sasha is serving his term in a Mogilev prison. They watch him closely and treat him harshly; probably, also because Sasha is a lawyer and he would constantly draw up and send papers in response to all violations perpetrated by the prison administration. Of course, the prison’s top brass did not like it one bit.
Besides, he would draw up papers for others: petitions, protests – anything prisoners would ask him. He is a man of principle, also from the legal standpoint. He faces major restrictions in terms of his detention regime like many political prisoners do. Only very infrequent phone calls are allowed; as for parcels, he can only get one every six months or so. They do that on purpose as a form of psychological pressure.
He had a broken leg and, judging by those scraps of information we get, it still bothers him as he has received no proper medical care.”
In April 2023, the political prisoner Aliaksandr Kashpul was one of the three people short-listed for the Global Advocacy Award of the international human rights defenders’ community.
On April 19, 2025, the campaign “Trade Unionism is not Extremism!” will run a Day of Action for Union Rights and Democracy in Belarus demanding the release of imprisoned Belarusian union leaders.
The campaign has been launched to focus the international community’s attention on the situation of workers’ rights in Belarus. The country faces police terror, torture, and persecution of all opponents to Lukashenka’s dictatorial regime, including trade union activists.
The campaign calls for the release of union and political prisoners, a stop to repressions against union activists, and the restoration of guarantees for legal operation of independent trade unions.
The campaign has been organized by the “Salidarnast” Association and the BKDP who provide support to union activists and the event will mark an anniversary of the pogroms perpetrated by Lukashenka’s regime against independent trade unions in 2022.
Victoria Leontieva
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