Europe's Last Dictator
Irina is the sister of imprisoned Belarussian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov. Through her eyes this doc charts the violent crackdown that followed the 2010 rigged elections and its dreadful aftermath. Award-winning photography captures Orwellian images of brute force used against unarmed men and women. We see the torture, murder and kidnap that defines Belarus today. A rare glimpse into Europe's most repressive state. Hundreds of others like Sannikov, including the other presidential candidate Alexander Neklayev, were also brutally beaten and imprisoned that night. With virtually the entire opposition behind bars, it fell to family members to campaign for their release. So Irina and Eva, the daughter of Alexander Neklayev, have now taken to the road to meet world leaders in an attempt to secure the release of their loved ones. From Irina's defiant perspective this doc gets right inside the prison that Lukashenko has turned Belarus into, exposing the true extent of the crisis. "People are so isolated in terms of information in Belarus, especially now that 10 million people live in jail". As the opposition continues to languish in custody, how long will the people of Belarus have to wait before they are set free?
Starring
Joanna Lumley
Director
Mathew Charles, Juan Luis Passarelli