When: Thursday, 16. April 2015 16:00
To: Thursday, 16. April 2015
Where: Vilnius, The Embassy of the Czech Republic (Birutes g. 16, Žverynas, Vilnius).
Host: The Embassy of the Czech Republic, the Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House and Freedom House
Contact: Laura Vancevičienė (laura_vanceviciene@mzv.cz / +370 652 54273)

Fifteen years ago, when Aleksandr Lukashenko was serving his first  presidential term, Belarus witnessed a string of disturbing events that shook up the highest ranks of the government and had a chilling effect on the society and political opposition. In the span of just a few months the death of the Deputy Speaker of the Supreme Soviet was followed by unexplained disappearances of the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Deputy Prime Minister, and a respected businessman. Less than a year later, a cameraman of a major television network vanished without a trace.  And criminal cases were opened, investigations were opened, but over this time, neither the family members nor the public at large know who the perpetrators were, and they haven’t been brought to justice. Fifteen years is a long time.  It’s long enough for a criminal case. It’s also a long time for an individual’s life. But, unfortunately, it was not enough time for the Belarusian government to give us an answer who was responsible for these crimes. Fifteen years was a period for a whole new generation of Belarusians to grow up, and most of these people have barely heard something about these cases, and they definitely don’t know the details.  And having heard something is one thing, but knowing for sure is totally different. And, to paraphrase one of the people who you will see in this film, we need to be constantly bothering these people, so that they don’t forget.

 

Ms. Raisa Mikhailovskaya is the founder and director of the Belarusian Documentation Centre “Pomnim” (“Remember”) which collects and analyzes legal evidence of human rights abuses under President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.

A lawyer by trade, Mikhailovskaya has founded and led several organizations that provide legal aid, advocate for the release of political prisoners, and fight for the civil rights for Belarusian citizens. In 2012, she became the first woman to be awarded the “Knight of the Year” title by Defenders of the Fatherland, an organization named in honor of the disappeared Belarusian Minister Jury Zacharanka.

R. Mikhailovskaya founded and served as editor-in-chief of the legal advocacy newspaper Citizen and Law, and has written more than a dozen publications on the protection of human rights. The Gang is her second film production, which follows On the Forefront of Truth, a documentary about Belarusian political prisoners.

The documentary will be screened for the first time in Lithuania. International premiere took place on December 17, 2014 in USA and was initiated by U.S. Helsinki Commission with the participation of the German Marshall Fund and Freedom House.

Within screening of this documentary the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vilnius is continuing its traditional events dedicated for human rights issue, this time in cooperation with the Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House and Freedom House.¨