Andrei Aliaksandrau: I was told that my fate interested no one, but I knew it wasn't true
The authorities of countries where journalists and civil activists are imprisoned seek to isolate them and make them believe that their fate interests no one.
This was stated by media manager, former political prisoner Andrei Aliaksandrau, during a discussion in Oslo with Free Media Awards 2026 and 2025 laureates, writes "Pozirk".
"Immediately after my detention," Aliaksandrau said, "representatives of law enforcement agencies made it clear to me: you know, there are leaders of the protest movement, who might be taken care of in the West, but you are nobody, nobody knows you, and you will spend your 14 years in prison. That was their main message."
However, according to the media manager, he "always knew that he was not alone," that "a huge amount of work was being done" to support him and his colleagues behind bars, and "Belarusian political prisoners in general."
"So we definitely knew that we were not alone. And it was a very important feeling of solidarity and live human warmth – to know that you are not alone, that people remember why you are imprisoned. And this really gave me not just hope, but confidence that everything would be alright, even if I had to spend some time behind bars. I knew what I stood for, and these values are more important than any personal hardships," Aliaksandrau emphasized.
Andrei Aliaksandrau was detained in Belarus on January 12, 2021, along with his girlfriend Iryna Zlobina. They later married behind bars.
Andrei was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony under four articles of the Criminal Code. On September 16, 2026, Aliaksandrau and Zlobina were released and departed for Lithuania.
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