Stories

"When they came for me, I felt relieved." Former political prisoner, Belsat journalist Larysa Shchyrakova

Larysa Shchyrakova, journalist, former political prisoner. She spent almost three years in prison on political charges. On August 11, 2025, she was released and forcibly deported from Belarus. Vilnius, Lithuania. November 27, 2025. Photo: Belsat
Larysa Shchyrakova, journalist, former political prisoner. She spent almost three years in prison on political charges. On August 11, 2025, she was released and forcibly deported from Belarus. Vilnius, Lithuania. November 27, 2025. Photo: Belsat

Larysa Shchyrakova from Homiel worked at Belsat almost from the very beginning, since 2008. The journalist did not have a quiet life even before 2020, but after the protests and mass repressions began, life turned into a waiting game — when will they come for her? Larysa says that when they really came, she exhaled, because she could no longer be afraid. In a conversation with Belsat, our colleague tells how she survived a three-year sentence and found meaning in life even behind bars.