“I Am a Political Prisoner” is a 40-minute documentary film by the Belarus Women’s Foundation about women who have been unlawfully deprived of their freedom in Belarus for their civic stance and professional activities.
In the film, volunteers of the Belarus Women’s Foundation tell the stories of women political prisoners on their behalf. These personal testimonies reveal the scale of repression women have faced since the events of 2020 and show the price they have paid for their pursuit of freedom, truth, and dignity.
The protagonists of the film are women of different ages and professions — activists, journalists, students, teachers, workers, mothers, and grandmothers. They are united by one thing: none of them committed any crimes. All were deprived of their freedom for their dissent and for claiming the right to live in a free country.
#FreeBelarusWomen !
Press Release: Dokumentary Film "I am a Political Prisoner"
16 July 2021
It has now been more then a year since the 2020 presidential campaign began in Belarus. All the hopes of the nation were with the newly elected leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who together with Veronica Tsepkalo (founder of Belarus Women’s Foundation, and Maryia Kalesnikava (who is now in prison), who were denied their elected office. Thus started the protest movement in Belarus.
The rigged election finished on the 9th of August 2020, and the result shook the nation. The lies of former president Mr. Lukashenko were too obvious. He claimed he won with the astonishing result of 80.23% of the votes. In disbelief and anger, hundreds went to the streets all over Belarus - expecting the regime to hear the will of the people, and to go. The power of Lukashenko was tremulous, but his loyal friend Vladimir Putin came to the rescue.
The belarusian protest was brutally suppressed, and opposition activity went undercover. The regime could not stop the ideals of the protesters and drive of the people. As a result, public protests were deemed criminal activity.
The role of women in Belarusian protests was incredible. They marched, worked as volunteers, and helped those who were tortured and savagely beaten by the regime.
The protest leaders were forced into exile or went to prison.
The Belarus Women’s Foundation started working to help women who suffered from the brutality of the regime. Veronica Tsepkalo put her own money into the foundation and started helping women in Belarus. Several campaigns started under the Belarus Women’s Foundation umbrella, from the 'Fashion for Freedom' project, to filing a claim with the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the Citizen of the Republic of Belarus A. Lukashenko under the Article “Crimes against Humanity”. https://belaruswomen.org/en/
Actors, TV presenters, directors, and musicians had to leave Belarus to escape prosecution and repression. Some of them have joined the Belarus Women’s Foundation, and help those back home. This is how volunteers of Belarus Women’s Foundation began creating documentary videos about female political prisoners.
'I am a Political Prisoner' is a collection of stories of women who are now in prisons in Belarus. These women cannot say what has happened to them, but we can be their voices. The Belarus Women’s Foundation has become a collective voice for the women of Belarus, who started democratic movement, and went to prison for their beliefs.
This film uses real footage obtained from the victims, interviews with real victims of the regime, one of whom is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. She was pushed into exile by the KGB, and her husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski has been in prison since May 2020.
The stories of the political prisoners were told by the volunteers of the Belarus Women’s Foundation from different countries. The first version of the film was in Russian Документальный фильм "Я-политзаключенная" (RU) - belaruswomen.org, but now we have created an English version so the whole world can find out about women.