“Turns out, I was being watched for 17 years”

Former chairman of the independent Radio and Electronics Industry Workers’ Union (REP), Hennadz Fiadynich, was released from Babruysk Penal Colony No. 2 a month and a half ago. He, along with other political prisoners, was taken to Lithuania. In a conversation with Radio Free Europe, he says that he "still doesn't feel much joy," as he has many concerns.

Hennadz Fiadynich is 68 years old. He was taken from the Babruysk prison on September 11 along with 51 other political prisoners and deported from his homeland without a passport, carrying a “bouquet” of illnesses. In prison, he developed joint problems, and his teeth deteriorated. Now in Vilnius, he spends most of his free time at the dentist. His family remains in Minsk.

On the Arrest

Fiadynich, along with his union colleagues Vasily Berasnyou and Vaclav Areshka, was arrested during a meeting at their office on Kulman Street in Minsk on April 19, 2022.

“Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, and someone on the other side said they were from the housing maintenance service. I replied, ‘We didn’t call you.’ Our guys laughed, and then came more banging and shouting that it was the KGB. Incidentally, we had earlier seen a post in a police Telegram channel claiming that extremists had gathered at our union. We laughed it off and forgot about it - until we had to remember. They took us to the KGB, and from the KGB detention center, we were interrogated for ten days,” recalled Hennadz Fiadynich.

According to Fiadynich, during his arrest at the KGB, he learned that surveillance equipment had been installed in the offices of independent trade unions even before 2020.

“Turns out I was personally being watched for 17 years - almost a quarter of my life. I also found out that one of our offices was being bugged from a café upstairs, where they installed special spy equipment - just like how the GPU listened in on White émigrés in Paris! Ridiculous!”

“I asked the investigators: did this help gather any evidence? Because in the case, there ended up being no evidence at all. That’s why the trial was closed - they were afraid people would come and see this farce,” says the former political prisoner.

On the Closed Trial

Hennadz Fiadynich was sentenced to 9 years in prison under three articles of the Criminal Code:

• “Calls for actions aimed at harming the national security of Belarus” (Article 361)

• “Creation of or participation in an extremist formation” (Article 361-1)

• “Incitement of hostility or discord” (Article 130)

  
  

At the same time, Vasily Berasnyou was also sentenced to 9 years (he was released last year), and Vaclav Areshka received 8 years and remains in prison.

“He’s still having a hard time in Ivacevichy, nearly lost his eyesight. Why Vaclav hasn’t been released - I just can’t understand!” says Hennadz Fiadynich.

On Poetry and the Wall Newspaper in the Penal Colony

Hennadz Fiadynich served his sentence in Penal Colony No. 2 in Babruysk. Despite the daily hardships, physical suffering, and acquired illnesses, he doesn’t consider his time there entirely wasted. He read a lot, engaged in conversations, reflected deeply - and even took up literary writing, something he never had time for while free.

“I started writing poems - sent them to my wife and friends. Some survived, but most were taken when I was released. I also wrote my own continuation of Eduard Uspensky’s children’s story about Uncle Fyodor, only in my version the events take place not in Prostokvashino, but in Smetanine. I did it for my granddaughter. She was 12 at the time, read it, and said she laughed. I came up with 10 chapters. Some of it survived - maybe I’ll restore it,” says the former political prisoner.

Fiadynich recalls another work he created in prison with particular pride - an essay on the preservation and development of the Belarusian language.

“Turns out the colony publishes wall newspapers, and they regularly held contests. Winners received prizes in the form of privileges or reduced punishment. I was invited to participate, and I wrote an essay about the Belarusian language. It won among the articles.

And how was the winner chosen? They hide the author’s name, and a jury of three officers and two ‘activists’ vote for the best piece. Democracy!

But I celebrated too soon. On the very day my essay won, I was punished for talking to someone from another unit and sent to solitary confinement (SHIZA). According to the contest rules, the winner should be exempt from punishment! But of course - not me,” Fiadynich smiles, recalling the ten cold days he spent in SHIZA.

Only after he got out did he learn that the prison authorities had intervened, annulled the contest results, and that “democracy” ended with that incident.

On His Last Day Behind Bars

Hennadz Fiadynich recalls his final day in the penal colony with regret - he didn’t have time to give away his belongings to fellow inmates.

“There was no sign I’d be released early. It was morning, I was getting ready to drink coffee. Suddenly, a duty officer approached and said I had 10 minutes to pack my things and leave the colony.

The day before, my wife had sent me a new prison uniform, which I was wearing. I had washed the old one and hung it to dry, so I didn’t get a chance to gift it to someone, as is customary. I didn’t distribute my prison items either - they’re still in my bag. I only really came to my senses at the Lithuanian border, when freedom began.

But what kind of freedom is it? No passport, no criminal case documents, and they didn’t even return the 740 rubles of my pension. They also withheld my blood sugar monitor, which was especially upsetting.

I have no clear future - my wife and family are in Belarus. Without a passport, I can’t travel anywhere for now. I’ve been invited to a trade union congress in Sydney, so I joke that I’ll run there. I need surgery on my leg, but how can I get it without documents?” says Hennadz Fiadynich.

The former union leader is convinced that the Belarusian state had no right to treat its citizens this way - even those who were convicted.

“The state must take responsibility for everyone, but here it has signed off on its own irresponsibility. That’s another crime.

First, thousands of people were illegally convicted, and now the most active ones are being expelled. There should be a separate trial for that,” says Hennadz Fiadynich.

On Public Sentiment

Fiadynich believes that the protest potential in Belarusian society has remained since 2020.

“Let’s remember how in 2020 people everywhere started forming neighborhood committees - it was incredible, no wonder the authorities were frightened. At the time, I was in my second year of ‘home chemistry’ [a form of house arrest], couldn’t leave the apartment in the evenings, but from the balcony I saw these gatherings and heard what people were saying. Yes, some of those people left the country, but most stayed - you can’t replace their minds.

Though it’s also true that certain processes happening back home we can’t see from here, and we don’t fully understand what’s going on,” Fiadynich admits.

Fiadynich plans to write a book about his prison saga and the many years he spent fighting for an independent Belarus and defending workers’ rights. In addition to his union activism, he served as a deputy in the Minsk City Council during the early years of Belarusian independence.

He recalls how, at his suggestion, the Minsk City Council approved the city’s coat of arms.

Fiadynich has many reflections on the role and place of trade unions in society.

“Progress moves forward, but work in production remains, which means problems with wages, jobs, safety standards, and worker solidarity remain too.

State-controlled trade unions are, as people say now, fake organizations. Their time has passed. We can’t move toward democracy without independent trade unions. I hope that eventually even our state will understand this.

And without constructive opposition, a country has no future - I’ve become convinced of that over the course of my life,” shared Hennadz Fiadynich, former REP chairman and former political prisoner.

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