Journalist Aleh Supruniuk is not allowed to use a hearing aid in the penal colony
Journalist Aleh Supruniuk, convicted for his professional activities, has been sent to serve his sentence in Mogilev penal colony No. 15. Former political prisoner Aliaksandr Fiaduta, who was released from the same colony and expelled from Belarus last December, told the Belarusian Association of Journalists how he met Supruniuk behind bars.
Journalist Aleh Supruniuk. Photo from personal archive
According to Aliaksandr Fiaduta, he spoke with Aleh Supruniuk twice in November 2025.
It turned out that the journalist, who has a hearing disability, was not allowed to use a hearing aid in the colony. For this reason, Mr. Aleh heard practically nothing and had huge problems communicating with other people.
“At first, we didn't recognize each other. Only on the third day did I ask him: 'Are you a journalist?' 'And are you Fiaduta?' Aleh Supruniuk asked in response. He had no hearing aid and was completely deaf. I spoke to him in a way that he could read lips. Unfortunately, other prisoners don't know how to do that, so Supruniuk didn't even have anyone to talk to,” said Aliaksandr Fiaduta.
From those brief conversations, Mr. Aliaksandr learned that during his short time in the colony, the journalist had already been in a punitive isolation cell.
In the colony, Aleh Supruniuk was assigned to sweep the floor in the production area. This is work usually given to physically weakened prisoners. According to Fiaduta, other prisoners treat him kindly and sympathetically — they understand that due to his deafness and lack of a hearing aid, it's difficult for him to communicate. In his free time, Aleh, like everyone else, reads a lot — “even more than others, because he cannot spend time talking, and therefore remains practically alone.”
Whether the journalist's problem with not being able to use a medical device vital to him has been resolved since then is unknown as of today.
Aleh Supruniuk is a 58-year-old journalist from Brest. During his career, he worked for the newspaper “Brestski Kuryer” (Brest Courier), the online publication “Piershy Rehion” (First Region), and collaborated with other independent media outlets. He was detained in January 2025, and for almost five months, nothing was known about the journalist's fate.
Only in early July, the Brest Regional Prosecutor's Office announced that a criminal case, initiated against a resident of Brest under Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code, had been sent to court. The department did not name the accused, only stated that no later than October 2023, the man became a member of the "Belarusian Association of Journalists," which was recognized as an "extremist formation" by a KGB decision on February 28, 2023.
On August 8, 2025, Aleh Supruniuk was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment to be served in a general-regime penal colony. The Brest Regional Court found him guilty of “participation in an extremist formation” (under Part 3 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). Last October, the journalist's name appeared on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website in the list of individuals "involved in extremist activities." The Belarusian human rights community considers Aleh Supruniuk a political prisoner.
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