{"id":2124,"date":"2024-05-19T16:47:54","date_gmt":"2024-05-19T13:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/?p=2124"},"modified":"2025-04-04T20:10:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T17:10:27","slug":"the-end-justifies-its-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/activism\/the-end-justifies-its-means","title":{"rendered":"“The end justifies its means”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are starting the column “Freedom in Captivity. Solidarity without Borders”<\/a>, together with the Belarusian Anarchist Black Cross (ABC)<\/a>, is about imprisoned Belarusian anarchists behind bars.  Soon, we will publish articles about their criminal prosecution, views, prison conditions in Belarus, relationships with their loved ones, and ways to help. At the end of each article, there will be a fundraiser to support the prisoners and their families.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our series opens with the political prisoner and anarchist Mikita Jemialjanaw. \u041cikita was detained back in October 2019 for attempting to set fire to Detention Centre No. 1 in Minsk as a sign of solidarity with the then imprisoned anarchist Dmitry Polienko. Immediately, he was sentenced to 7 years in prison, on appeal, the term was reduced to 4 years. During his imprisonment, \u041cikita has faced constant pressure: he was repeatedly placed in pre-trial detention, twice transferred to the prison regime, and added to his sentence allegedly for malicious disobedience to the administration of the penitentiary. His sentence was increased by another two years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I believe that in the fight for freedom, justice, and human rights, the end justifies the means.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikita Jemialjanaw’s last word in court<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Even before the events of 2020, Belarusian anarchists were fighting for a free society without oppression and tyranny, organising concerts, taking part in demonstrations, organising marches, and doing charity and direct action actions. Direct action is what sets them apart from the opposition and liberal circles. Direct action begins when peaceful means don’t work. The Belarusian punk band Antiglobalizator had this line: “Terrorism is the voice of an individual driven to madness” – I would replace “terrorism” with “direct action”. Madness begins when corrupt officials rule the country, cops flood the streets, militarism infiltrates kindergartens and schools, the country is ruled by a mad grandfather who gives a machine gun to a minor child, and the voice of dissenters is silenced by violence and prison sentences. It’s easy to drive oneself to madness – a madness of honesty towards oneself and the external world, honesty of thoughts and actions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these articles, we will tell the stories of imprisoned Belarusian anarchists who were not afraid to cross the line of fear and show their resilience against the embittered grin of the authoritarian state machine, which has been unpunishedly committing lawlessness in the country for 30 years, demonstrating its rotten, foul, and fearful method of holding onto power<\/em>“.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participant in the small media project \u2018Not Today, Not Yesterday, Not Tomorrow\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikita Jemialjanaw’s mother was separated from her son for six years. He was 19 years old at the time. There are three other children in the family: together with the father, the five of them are the only ones who write letters to Mikita. Below are memories of Jemialjanaw<\/strong>‘s trial, information about his conditions of detention, and unobtrusive tips on what to write to a political prisoner anarchist about.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mikita Jemialjanaw, photo from Svetlana’s personal archive<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nastassia Jemialjanava, \u041cikita’s mother:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u041cikita has been behind bars for four and a half years. It is difficult for me to say what he is like now, as I remember him as a teenager. \u041cikita was captured when he was a third-year student. Now he has changed a lot and become a man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we talked about politics at home. \u041cikita became interested in anarchism around the age of 16. He read books on political science from an early age. \u041cikita was also interested in history; I think he understood very well what kind of system we have in Belarus by the age of 16. We talked to him: I prefer democracy on the model of Scandinavian countries, while \u041cikita likes the ideas of anarchism and horizontal communes. We debated, but each of us stayed with our own thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2022, Mikita Jemialjanaw was convicted under Article 411 (supposedly for disorder) and sent to Volkovysk Colony No. 11 for repeat offenders. Now he is in Grodno Prison. \u041cikita was repeatedly put in the punishment isolator, he spent 30 to 40 days in jail. He went on hunger strike twice: the first time he refused food and then water. It seems to me that some rights were able to be restored to him because of this, although not all are known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious items were not passed on to \u041cikita. I tried to bring him prayer rosary, but the woman accepting the items said that only an icon and a cross necklace were allowed. I argued: the list says that you can pass on religious items; there are no restrictions. But who cares? Eventually, a priest passed the rosary to him, but, as \u041cikita later said, they were confiscated. Additionally, when \u041cikita was arrested, they took away his medallion with the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have seen my son only a few times from 2019 to 2024. The first time was still in the detention centre, then there was a three-hour visit in 2020, when we came as a family with his brothers and father. Of course, we couldn\u2019t talk about much; \u041cikita was constantly under surveillance, so it wasn\u2019t really a private meeting.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time we saw each other was in the colony in 2022, when we spent three days together. Then I noticed that he had changed: he had grown up, become more courageous, he must have changed his thoughts and views because \u041cikita had been through both fire and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u041cikita, August 2018, Photo from the family’s personal archive. \u041cikita’s letters, photos from Svetlana’s archive<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what Vasil Bykov wrote about: extreme circumstances, war, prison, captivity, showing who we are and what we are capable of. All human qualities are exposed there. Someone comes out as a hero, someone else does not. \u041cikita has already changed several colonies. Different people are around him: both political prisoners and other convicts. Of course, this affects him. But I am sure that he is strong<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I attended several court sessions. I remember waving to \u041cikita to let him know that I loved him and did not judge him for what he had done. I wanted him to feel my support, no matter what: I folded my hands in the shape of a heart, sent air kisses, and smiled at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there was no question of a fair trial. \u041cikita is a young man with good character references, a man without any offences, clean before the law, and he is immediately given a sentence of 7 years! In my opinion, \u041cikita didn’t break the law, but made a political action, and wanted to draw attention to the situation with his fellow anarchist Dmitry Polienko. Did he break the law? It should be decided by the court, but there was no court, it was a circus. But his actions are the maximum of hooliganism. In other countries, activists hold performances, actions and get fined. Imagine: some Greta Thunberg gets 7 years – it’s absurd!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now \u041cikita only gets letters from his family. I know that other people also write to him, but during the year he received only one letter, not from his relatives. Once in Mahilou prison, \u041cikita stopped receiving letters because the censors seemed to see a cypher in the smiley faces of his friends. After that, \u041cikita wrote to me to be more careful when writing, and I had always drawn him a heart and smiley faces. Then I had an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you remember how, in my childhood, on contour maps of geography, at the bottom were symbols? So I started to decode: smiley face: \u2018funny emotion\u2019, \u2018joke\u2019, heart: \u2018feeling of love\u2019, \u2018I like something\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u041cikita reads a lot behind bars. What else can one do there? Especially when you’ve spent about 12 out of 14 months in \u2018solitary confinement\u2019. However, there are problems with this: orders from \u2018Belkniga\u2019 don’t always reach him. For example, the last collected order was in the shop for six months, and none of the prison staff came to pick it up. They never explained to us what the matter was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more we are alone, the fewer topics for conversation: so we discuss books and films. \u041cikita asked about movies, and I looked up information about actors and awards for him. One of the films \u041cikita asked about was \u2018Barbie\u2019 and \u2018Oppenheimer\u2019. Father and brothers rather on TV series; in this, they are more aware than me. So, we share: someone writes about movies and series; someone writes about books. By the way, \u041cikita loves historical novels, Hugo, and \u2018Harry Potter\u2019. But there’s a problem: his choices are limited to what\u2019s in the prison library. New books are hard to get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every letter, we tell \u041cikita how much we love and wait for him. This is the most important thing for a person behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u041cikita’s letters, photos from Svetlana’s archive<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlana is \u041cikita’s guardian from Disidentby<\/a>. She got to know \u041cikita when he was already in prison, having learned about his story online, after which she decided to take \u041cikita under her guardianship. You can find out what the task of a guardian is, what \u041cikita wrote about, and how to help political prisoners by reading the interview below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlana, \u041cikita’s friend and protector<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We met by correspondence when \u041cikita was already behind bars. It was his story that touched and amazed me: \u041cikita was fighting for the rights of political prisoners even before the events of 2020. By the way, one of those whom \u041cikita supported with his action was soon released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the trial, \u041cikita said that it was not a court, but a shameful trial and that there was no honest and fair trial in the country. This got to me. I started to send him letters. We had a long correspondence until there was a complete blockade of letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of a guardian is to provide media support. You need to tell the political prisoner’s story on social media, publish his drawings, and write letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikita often ends up in the punishment cell. The conditions there are terrible. The additional term under the article for disobedience shows that \u041cikita is under pressure from the prison administration, but he still resists repression.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u041cikita is very fond of history; in his letters, he tells me about different historical facts. He advised me about interesting places in Minsk, for example, his favourite Loshitsky Park, near where he lived. I went there, then sent him photos from there. He was very happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last letter I received from \u041cikita was a couple of months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He congratulated me on the 8th of March, the day of women’s struggle for their rights. Then I wrote a lot, both electronically and simply, but there was no reply. The parcel I wanted to send was not accepted (he has very strict restrictions: one 5-kg parcel per year). If you are on a strict regime, with these yellow tags, you can be deprived of both parcels and calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can democratic forces help political prisoners? I think the exchange method is a good idea. Political prisoners in Belarus are dying behind bars. Yes, there is such a popular opinion that if some are released, others will be imprisoned. It can happen, but at least those who have spent years behind bars will have a chance to recover. \u041cikita has been imprisoned for 4.5 years, going through the harshest prisons in the country. And if it were possible, I would definitely be in favour of his release. But I don’t believe that politicians will do it beyond words. They could have blocked trade routes a long time ago, made normal sanctions instead of those that affect ordinary people, not the regime. It should be remembered that ordinary people remain in the country, including relatives of political prisoners, who cannot leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we support political prisoners? Donate to their families in the safest way possible. And preferably not through intermediaries, but directly: look for direct contacts of the families of political prisoners and send parcels (families with many children, for example, need certain things, some need food in general – different requests).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are in Belarus and know any political prisoners, just talk to their relatives; it helps them emotionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u041cikita’s image, photo from Svetlana’s archive. \u041cikita, May 2019, Photo from the family’s personal archive<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a story not only about freedom in captivity, honesty, despondency, maximalism, and resistance, but also about great love, which does not obey any system.  The building that \u041cikita tried to set on fire in solidarity with his comrade Dmitry Polienko suffered only material damage. Whether this corresponds to six years in prison for the young man and eight months in solitary confinement is a rhetorical question. This is the response of the police cardboard state to our solidarity and desire for freedom. It is evident that the sentence was given for his civic position, given that \u041cikita has so far been clean before the law, and his university reputation and reputation as a citizen remain impeccable. But the regime is not embarrassed by this: \u041cikita is treated as a hardened criminal-recidivist, and repression and brutality in prison towards \u041cikita and others like him have become the new \u2018norm\u2019. He is forced to clean the courtyard for walks, and if the guy doesn’t agree, the answer is always the same: punitive isolation, theft of letters and parcels, refusal to visit the priest, and inability to work (the only non-routine business in the penitentiary). However, despite all the repression, \u041cikita does not give up, and does not compromise with the prison administration.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can support \u041cikita and his family by sending letters online or via the ABC (Anarchist Black Cross Belarus)<\/a> Belarus and Disidentby<\/a> <\/a>platforms; they will be saved and given to the political prisoner after his release. You can also donate by clicking on the links below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn about Mikita Jemialjanaw\u2019s case and write him a letter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support ABC (Anarchist Black Cross Belarus) work and donate to support \u041cikita (mention Mikita Jemialjanaw in the note)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read about the Anarchist Black Cross<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are starting the column “Freedom in Captivity. Solidarity without Borders”, together with the Belarusian Anarchist Black Cross (ABC), is about imprisoned Belarusian anarchists behind bars.  Soon, we will publish articles about their criminal prosecution, views, prison conditions in Belarus, relationships with their loved ones, and ways to help. At the end of each article, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-2124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","tag-svaboda-njavoli-salidarnasc-bez-mezha-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2124"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3287,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2124\/revisions\/3287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}