"Excuse me, where is criminal cases?"

The lieutenant colonel of the Belarusian police, Alexander Akhremchik, defiantly quit the service due to the bullying of the security forces over the protesters. Monologue

On August 18, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus stated that there will be no “pathos parting with certificates, joining the columns of protesting and public condemnation of colleagues and the authorities as a whole.” However, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies continue to leave the service, publicly declaring this on social networks. So, on August 15, the police lieutenant colonel Alexander Akhremchik submitted a dismissal report, writing on his Instagram: “My conscience does not allow me to be in the so -called system.”

The special correspondent of Novaya Gazeta Ilya Azar met with Akhremchik and recorded his monologue about why he no longer considers it possible to serve in the police.

- I filed a report on August 15, but they would fire me for the absenteeism, because according to the procedure I have to wait for the termination of the contract, and I wrote such a report that I just did not want to go through the service anymore. I made the decision to quit because of the events that took place in virtually two weeks ago [in the cities of Belarus in the first days after the elections].

I had no problems with the performance of duties, there were no conflicts with my immediate leadership. My dismissal is a protest against the actions of the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this is an expression of my civil position.

The main reason is unlawful actions and violence against citizens who were detained.

I worked at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, my last position: head of the planning department of the educational process. In fact, this is an administrative position: in particular, we made a schedule, the calculation of the load.

A week after the elections was held in the experiences and comprehension of what happened], and on August 14 due to the irregular schedule, since we were involved in the protection of the academy, I had free time before lunch. I saw in the media the information that the detainees would be released from the insulator in Zhodino, and experiencing the whole situation, I could not remain indifferent and wanted to somehow help. I have a car, and I decided to help people get to Minsk, since Zhodino is located 60 kilometers.

In the morning I went there and looked with my own eyes at the people who leave there.

I looked at the condition in which they are. It was just terrible. People had a lost look, they simply did not understand what happened, where they were.

It was just scary. Looking at this all alive, I returned to Minsk, finalized the working day, made the final decision and left a report and documents on Saturday.

***

The result of the elections, including [influenced my decision], but nevertheless prompted the act to the act precisely the experiences of the fate of people. Yes, the elections also played a role, but taking into account the resonance of subsequent events, they faded into the background. Somehow I did not even analyze them and did not scroll them in my head. Perhaps because the outcome was already clear.

We, as employees of the internal affairs bodies during the election campaign, are attracted to service. Directly on August 9, I was serving at the polling station at the school in the Frunze district, where I ensured public order.

This is not the first time I am on duty on the site, and the first thing that surprised me is the number of people. By the beginning of the elections at 8 in the morning, there was already a line of people who wanted to vote. And later the stream was endless, which I had never seen before. Then all day everything was calm, there was no provocation or injection.

Unless one of those who came to the site in my direction threw the phrase: "You have not been living here for long, soon you will come to you."

Behind the territory of the school were independent observers whom the chairman did not allow to the polling station, but I, as an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, of course, could not interfere in the work of the commission. The counting also takes place always without our presence.

The new one is also that if the site was closed before after the elections, and no one was interested, then on August 9, people began to gather near the school to wait for the results to be unleashed. There were no problems near our school, people were asked to go beyond the territory, and the commission members calmly drove by bus. OMON did not come to us.

***

Unfortunately, [in society] a negative opinion about the police has already been formed, and its authority has long been not as high as we would like, therefore many are not surprised [how the security forces behaved after the elections], but, working inside the system, faced with [colleagues], it is not clear to me where this aggression came from. Partially, I can explain this for myself the lack of responsibility. I don’t know how and why it happened, but people simply believed that there would be no responsibility.

But the fact that this will result in such crimes did not expect. The fact that these are crimes is obvious.

I cannot understand where this cruelty came from. This has never happened.

When there were mass riots on August 9 and 10, we immediately saw in the media that we were opening a case for violence against employees [police], we initiated the case for organizing and participating in the riots. But more than a week has passed since the first participants in the events from the [isolator to the surroundings] came out, and since the first facts of the use of violence appeared, but so far we only hear about plans to conduct checks. Sorry, but where is criminal cases?

It does not fit in my head, and I do not know how to answer [to the question where is this sadism from where].

Before intercessor in the service on the site on August 9, we were instructed in the police department, but there were no words about violence. Yes, they said that the situation is atypical for the election and the situation may be different, they said that if necessary, it was possible to call riot police, but there were no installations for hard behavior even in the subtext.

It is clear that there are detainees who really behaved aggressively and applied violence against employees. It is clear that there are guilty and inadequate, but absolutely innocent people were detained, and then they mocked them.

So from Zhodino, I brought the young man who did not participate in anything, but simply at 6 o’clock in the evening rode along the avenue.

He was stopped by the traffic police officer, said to present the documents, he replied: "What happened?" - He was immediately pulled out of the car with the passenger.

He spent several days in prison. This is the wrong one. Even if the detainee is guilty of violence against an employee, but already detained, then there is no reason to apply physical force.

***

I have worked in the police for 14 years. I never divided the general policy of Lukashenko, especially the economic one. It is clear that we have many ineffective enterprises. But there was no such acute moment that would not allow working [in the Ministry of Internal Affairs]. Moreover, the Academy, as you know, is not a combat unit, but the administrative work that I carried out honestly and a team, and there were no internal contradictions before this August.

[As for Lukashenko’s possible involvement in the disappearance of the ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Zakharenko and other oppositionists], I came to the service in 2006, I did not think about these facts, my service was not connected with this. [The recently released new] I saw. In our team, this was not discussed at all, this issue was not raised.

I never voted for Lukashenko, usually voted against everyone, and in these elections - for Tikhanovskaya. I have no doubt that she won. There are sites where the voices were really calculated, and there she won, and it could not be that she had 60%in one section, and in the other - 5%.
["Tikhars" or employees in civilian clothes], like cars without numbers, are in the wrong field. The Minister [of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Karaev], speaking before the elections, said that they were trying not to shine in shape once again, to act softly. Maybe they simply do not want to attract attention, but it turns out the opposite effect, because all these detentions are filmed on the video, and they all see this.

***

[Not many people who have left the service in law enforcement], because many really holds back the financial side. To take such a step and understand that you are losing a stable salary of a good level, not everyone can decide. In my opinion, there are employees who honestly do their job. They want to continue the service, despite all these events.

I don’t know [about the premiums for special forces for work after the elections], but we did not have special incentives, not counting the processing hours, for which they can provide a day off. As for the level of income from the police, we may have a higher salary above average, but it cannot be said that there is nowhere else to earn money, so there is a certain non -membrane in the police. If everything were as good as they say, then two years later everyone would give apartments, and there would be a competition for places in the police.

I am not afraid of the consequences of my step, I do not think that my person is interesting to someone, and I can’t pose a threat to anyone. This is definitely. With the search for work in the public sector, problems are possible: banal even because of dismissal for absenteeism. But in the public sector I do not plan to look for work - I always had a desire to try myself in it. I am positively tuned and do not want to think about the negative development of events.

I myself was at a rally on July 30 in support of Tikhalovskaya ( there were more than 60 thousand people on it . - I. A. ), while still a police officer, but at non -working hours, of course. After the elections, I have not yet gone to the action], but perhaps I will go out on Sunday.

***

Colleagues reacted differently to my care. You can divide them into two categories. Some called and said: “Well done, we support”, some simply did not understand why I left, and one person in Viber wrote:

“It's good that you yourself have left, because you are not worthy of the title of officer.” I answered him: "Thank you for the opinion." I myself do not regret that I left.

I think that Lukashenko will not agree to any conditions [from protesters], including new elections, and he will not retreat from his words. But I do not think that he will certainly lead for a long time. There may well be a more serious split of the elites, and if it happens, then Lukashenko will no longer have a choice, they simply will not leave him.

If I were asked two weeks ago, [can the security forces shoot at the crowd], I would say: “Definitely not,” but those events that occurred, I was confused.