Former Political Prisoner from Sweden: The Investigator Thought the Grandmother Would Immediately Break, But She Dug In Her Heels: I Won't Admit Guilt, I Won't Give Testimony

Halina did not admit guilt either in court or in the colony. The woman says she was always convinced that she would be released before her term ended. When she recalls the moment she personally heard John Cole's words: "The American government has released you," she cannot hold back tears. Upon her return to Sweden, Halina was personally met at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The former political prisoner told "Viasna" about her life after imprisonment, the conditions in the KGB pre-trial detention center and the colony, as well as the support for women behind bars.

"A feeling of my life being destroyed"

Halina has been free for the ninth month after imprisonment; she was released on June 21, 2025. The woman shares that adaptation is gradual: "Now I have a feeling of my life being destroyed. But, although very slowly, everything is getting back on track. From time to time, I catch myself thinking: 'Oh, how good it is to be home.' This winter was snowy, which meant it was difficult in the colony. The girls there had to clear this snow, removing it, first one way, then another. It was horrible.

When I returned home, I felt as if everything was as it had been before my detention. But before, I could gather myself at any moment and go to Minsk to visit my parents. Now I don't have parents.

Last November, my father died, and unfortunately, I couldn't even attend his funeral."

The former political prisoner notes that she tries to return to old habits that used to support her: "Back in 2020, I got acquainted with a technique called 'neurographics'. It's a specific drawing style. It helped me both in the colony and now at home when I need to switch from negative thoughts."

"I was planning to call a taxi when there was a knock at the door"

Halina moved to Sweden in 2003 and later obtained citizenship. Periodically, she traveled to Belarus to visit her relatives. But one of these trips home ended in detention.

Halina was detained on the day she was supposed to return to Sweden.

"I was planning to call a taxi when there was a knock at the door. I was immediately surprised, as I thought I had already received all the orders I had placed online. But when the knocking became more insistent, I realized it wasn't a delivery.

It seems to me that during the detention, they didn't know I had Swedish citizenship. At that point, I had already been a Swedish citizen for 12 years."

For a long time, Halina's family didn't know what had happened or where she was: "Relatives were very frightened because anything could have happened to me. I consider my detention as kidnapping. Only on the ninth day was my father informed of my whereabouts. Before that, the answer to all questions was the same: 'We don't have anyone like that.'

People simply disappear upon detention – relatives are forced to search for them. Here we can recall the story of Mikalai Statkevich, whose wife wasn't told where he was, even though he was in the Hlybokaye colony."

The woman recounts that in 2020, she often traveled to Belarus, even voted because she has Belarusian citizenship, read the news, but could never have imagined that she herself could become a political prisoner:

"I never had such a thought. It's even strange to me that this happened. When I ended up in the pre-trial detention center, I understood from conversations with my cellmates that the excessively inflated staff of security forces leads to people being arrested for the slightest transgression. They have to justify the fact that there are so many of them, otherwise they will lose their jobs."

"Decent people are imprisoned there!"

The woman hoped until the last moment that she would be released and even planned to catch a plane to Sweden, but she was placed in custody.

"When I realized they were taking me to the KGB pre-trial detention center, a thought immediately crossed my mind: 'Decent people are imprisoned there!' Then I became confident that everything would be fine. And so it turned out. I was with a psychologist, a biology student, the head of a culinary college, a lawyer, and also a Lithuanian citizen, Alena Ramanavskiene. We were together in the KGB pre-trial detention center for some time, and then we ended up in the same unit in the colony. She tells me: 'Halya, we've known each other for two years already!' Although we were together for several months in the pre-trial detention center and the colony, there's already a bond. You know that a person is reliable and can be trusted.

In the KGB pre-trial detention center, we were also together for three months with a culturologist. And when she saw that we were traveling together in transit to the colony, she even burst into tears. The girls I was with in the KGB pre-trial detention center, sharing bread, are closest to me. Some of them are not even like daughters, but granddaughters to me. Nevertheless, we found common ground with them. We constantly supported each other."

As the former political prisoner notes, imprisonment was endured more easily thanks to the support of her cellmates. The woman was held in the KGB pre-trial detention center for seven months.

"In the KGB pre-trial detention center, only 4-6 cells have 'amenities,' so to speak. There, besides a tap, there's a toilet. The other cells are equipped with 'bio-toilets,' which are buckets with lids. These had to be emptied twice a day. Those on duty from 12 cells were taken out twice a day to empty this 'slop.' It was emptied, washed, and a special solution was poured in to combat unpleasant odors, but it wasn't always enough for everyone. In the summer of 2023, it was very hot, so the smells from the buckets were still present. Sometimes we asked for permission to take out the bucket additionally. The answer depended on the officer's personality and their mood. There were some for whom there was no point in asking.

Initially, I was in cell No. 10 — a small cell with a toilet, where there were five of us. Then, for 'bad behavior,' I was periodically placed in a punishment cell for 32 days. After a dispute with the head of the pre-trial detention center regarding my Swedish citizenship and medication, I was assigned such a punishment. At any moment, I could be sent to a room completely upholstered in soft artificial leather. I could stay there for four to 11 hours. You couldn't do anything there, not even read. You could only walk from corner to corner, that's all. I always slept in my cell."

In the character reference from the KGB pre-trial detention center, the former political prisoner was described as "contemptuous," the woman recalls:

"Perhaps I did behave that way, because they haven't seen this world, they know nothing about the surrounding environment. They constantly confused Sweden and Switzerland. And I, in my life, had constantly traveled somewhere since childhood and seen a lot. My parents took me all over the Soviet Union. But these people from the KGB are limited in their worldview."

"I don't admit guilt, I don't give testimony"

Initially, Halina was accused of participating in the 2020 protests (Art. 342 of the Criminal Code), but then, in the woman's Facebook, they found correspondence with a Ukrainian woman who told her about fundraising for drones for Ukraine. The article was reclassified to a more severe one — "participation or preparation for participation of a citizen on the territory of a foreign state in military actions without state authorization" (Art. 361-3 of the Criminal Code). However, there were no bank statements or other documents in the case.

"Investigator Dzmitry Ivanavich Aleichyk was very enraged that I did not admit guilt. He thought he would crack the grandmother immediately, but she dug in her heels: 'I don't admit guilt, I don't give testimony.'

I remember, as soon as I familiarized myself with the case, he didn't hesitate and immediately took it to the prosecutor's office on Friday evening. A couple of days later, I was sent to Zhodzina prison. Not even to Valadarka, which is nearby. This was specifically so I would drag these things around. A month later, I was returned to Valadarka because trials in Minsk had begun."

Halina was held for three months in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1, which was formerly located on Valadarskaya Street in Minsk — while the trials were ongoing and she awaited her appeal.

"Conditions there were bad because 10 people were crammed into a small cell. In the Zhodzina cell, there was a spacious cell for those 10 people. In Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1, everything was old too. The food at Valadarka was terrible; it was impossible to eat.

But, you know, confinement itself is not a difficult phenomenon, because a person adapts to everything, to different rules. But there, they constantly exert psychological pressure. The most difficult thing was when the security forces demonstrated their power over you. It was very unpleasant.

"The most unpleasant impression throughout my entire imprisonment was made by the trial. I was judged solely on correspondence. They couldn't obtain any confirmations from either Ukraine or Sweden. Essentially, an innocent person who had committed no crime was judged.

Since I did not admit my guilt, I was taken to trials in handcuffs with my hands behind my back, even though I am not a young person anymore. They take me alone, and I am accompanied by seven young men who are armed to the teeth.

This made an oppressive impression on me. They put real criminals — murderers, robbers — and political prisoners like me, who are mostly educated, intelligent people, in the same position. This was the most difficult thing for me. And unfavorable conditions were temporary difficulties, so to speak."

"I was allowed medication, but I still received a report"

As soon as Halina arrived at the colony, she was assigned the status of a "malicious regime violator."

"I arrived in May, and by June I was already a 'malicious violator.' On my first day, I received my first report. They wanted to take my medication, and I started to defend myself. They brought me an act of destruction, which stated that I could justify why I could keep this medication for myself. Without any complaints, I explained why I needed this medication. In the Homel pre-trial detention center, they not only didn't issue part of my medication but also didn't give me a certificate. At Valadarka, many certificates were issued to everyone, but here, for some reason, they didn't give anything to anyone. Thus, they themselves violated their rules.

When I wrote that this medication was vitally necessary for me, I was immediately taken to the duty operative. But with them, everything starts with medication and ends with a charge. As a result, I was allowed my medication, but I still received a report. I was summoned to a commission. When I entered the room for the commission, the head of the colony, Dzianis Talstsiankou [now former head], accused me of not saying hello. The other two officers said they hadn't noticed it. But I didn't remember either, because I was very focused on that speech. Thus, I received a second report.

I received another violation for being late for roll call. But at that time, there was a viewing of the TV program 'Vector.' That is, two mutually exclusive events. I'm not violating anything — I'm also attending a regime event. A girl ran to me, but it was already too late — a report on me had already been filed.

I calmly asked them not to issue me a violation, but they are geared in such a way that they need to do nasty things to political prisoners. Do you think anyone in that situation looked at my lateness — they immediately switched to my charge and started lecturing me about life."

After the third report, the political prisoner's spending limit in the store was reduced, and she was deprived of parcels.

"But somehow I managed — after all, they fed me three times a day. However, I was very afraid of ending up in a punishment cell because I thought I simply wouldn't endure it there, as it's very cold. But, thank God, it was avoided. And still, I think my foreign citizenship protected me — they harassed me in small ways, but were largely wary."

"I saw what a police state we actually live in"

Total control and the feeling that the colony is a miniature copy of the entire country. The former political prisoner recounts how her prison experience forced her to understand what system Belarusians live in.

"Political prisoners had to recite a speech stating that you are 'prone to extremist and other destructive activities' — but what kind of extremists are they, what kind of terrorists, I ask you! It's simply a totalitarian system, what else is there to say?

I was very surprised that the libraries of Zhodzina prison and Homel colony contained the book 'The Gulag Archipelago.' It described all this life that we later saw with our own eyes. Everything, of course, to a lesser extent, but the essence remains the same.

In the colony, I saw that it is a projection of our Belarusian state. It was horrible. The writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya came to the conclusion that a colony reflects the essence of the state. I also came to this thought and saw what a police state we actually live in.

I wasn't often called to the head of the unit or the operatives — I didn't particularly interact with them. But when I was called once, I told them directly that I was their captive. I told them this in plain text. I also stated that I would not write a petition for pardon. Firstly, it doesn't work, I'm convinced of that, and secondly, perhaps I'll write it if people from Minsk arrive. I'm glad that in the end, I didn't have to write this pardon. And what would I write? Because I didn't admit guilt either in court or in the colony."

"They take me in handcuffs — next to me a medic and two female guards"

The woman recounts how imprisonment affected her health:

"Firstly, you are constantly under stress, because you cannot make any mistakes, so that other prisoners don't inform on you and you don't receive another report. There's no need to stand out there. Trying to prove anything to anyone there is pointless. But all of this is a waste of your efforts. And you need to constantly take care of your health. You need to maintain self-respect, self-preservation, and self-development. The pressure is constant — they don't let you relax there, and this greatly affects your health.

For all the 'yellow ones' in the colony's storage room, only the top shelf is provided. For some time, I had a bottom shelf. But then I was again assigned the top one. I asked the head to assign a shelf at my level, but to no avail. And this climbing with a heavy box affected my back. The pain hasn't gone away yet — I've never had such pain before. That's why I think my health deteriorated specifically in captivity. In the colony, nothing is adapted to prevent your health from worsening.

I remember, in the colony, I walked for 10 days, and it turned out that I had developed pneumonia. Then they put me in the hospital.

But the thing is, I entered the colony with a lung disease. A TB doctor registered me. I came to her constantly, and she sent my data to the Institute of Pulmonology, located in Navinki. Every six months, they took me for an X-ray in Homel. But it's humiliating. They take me in handcuffs — next to me a medic and two female guards, and behind is another car with additional security. What are they spending state funds on?"

"It always seemed that political prisoners would be released anyway"

Halina shares that she always had hope for early release:

"I didn't lose that hope for a minute. It always seemed to me that political prisoners would be released anyway. Political prisoners are a separate category. So many innocent people ended up in prisons. They are guilty only of thinking differently. The state wants to veto even people's thoughts. Despite the international community not being very persistent, work is still being done. In general, I believe that international attention to the issues of political prisoners is very important and helps. And what Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is doing — so that Belarus does not disappear from the international agenda — is very important."

The woman was brought to the colony in May, and already in July, the first group of political prisoners was released:

"Therefore, of course, I knew that one day I would be in one of these groups. I had no doubts about it."

Halina learned about the possible release of political prisoners from Liudmila Chekina, the former general director of TUT.BY, who informed her: "The good news is that the Americans have arrived!" The next day, Halina was released.

"In the colony, everything happened so quickly that I didn't even grasp what to take with me. I went to the dining room, then I was on duty at the table. After that, an officer came to me and, for some unknown reason, asked me to show him my nightstand. After that, he told me to pack my things. I had to gather all my belongings within 10-15 minutes. Our things were taken to one room, and we were kept locked in another room. All the notes I had made during that time in captivity were taken — my thoughts, descriptions of books I had read."

Halina was taken to the border with a sack over her head and in handcuffs.

"Natasha Dulina was taken out with me — she was very dissatisfied with this, saying that she would have served those six months and stayed in Belarus. And I kept thinking, when they release me, how will I get out of that Belarus and go home..."

"My sons are such good boys — they fought very hard for me"

The former political prisoner is convinced that Swedish citizenship helped her get free faster. She recalls with tears how her sons fought for her release:

"They were constantly in contact with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I was later told that my sons are such good boys — they fought very hard for me. After the trial, representatives of the Embassy visited me. It was very pleasant. The girls in the cell were stunned by this. With Alena Ramanavskiene, everything was different, because she was not a citizen of Belarus. And this Belarusian citizenship hindered me."

Halina recounts that she perceived her release quite calmly. But when she recalls the moment John Cole told the political prisoners: "The American government has released you," she starts to cry:

"It's a very emotional moment now. But then, I perceived my release as something natural. There was no fountain of emotions. The first night before my flight to Sweden, I spent in Vilnius. And I was curious myself how I would react to the city, whether I would be scared. There's a little discomfort, as if, but in reality, no one in this world cares about you, except Belarus, of course. But I calmly walked to some rose garden, strolled around, and then returned to my hotel. I realized I didn't feel great fear. And a week later, I already flew to Spain."

Upon her return to Sweden, Halina was personally met at the airport by the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard, and the former Swedish Ambassador, Kristina Johannesson, who now holds the position of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia.

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