Testimonies That Should Be Heard: An Interview with Dzmitry Selestsiuk

Our partners at Memorial.Polska recorded an interview with Belarusian journalist Dzmitry Selestsiuk — two months after his release from prison.

In the interview, Dzmitry speaks about the time he spent in detention and the humiliations he experienced in the penal colony. During the investigation, protesting against the inhumane conditions in his cell, Dzmitry attempted suicide.

Dzmitry is now free, but what he experienced remains part of his personal story and the history of thousands of Belarusians who have endured political repression.

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Preserving Testimonies Means Preserving Memory

Recently, the Belarusian regime has released hundreds of political prisoners amid agreements with the United States and a partial easing of US sanctions. Alongside the release of these people, another task is becoming particularly important — preserving their testimonies.

The memories of people who have experienced political persecution and imprisonment are important historical sources. They make it possible to document what happened in Belarusian prisons and penal colonies, preserve individual human stories, and pass them on to future generations.

Such projects are especially important today, while witnesses to these events are still able to tell their stories themselves. Their testimonies help preserve the memory of repression in Belarus and prevent these stories from disappearing.

We thank Memorial.Polska for its important work collecting and preserving the testimonies of people who have experienced political repression.

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Interview with Dzmitry Selestsiuk on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/TcSVX3bfMKs?si=8PbaVHj2_DfJMr0h

https://youtu.be/wRRaYLvbk3g?is=ngn9fnYNX-XgPE7W

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