A citizen of Ukraine, participant of the Chernobyl Path in 1996, an annual demonstration that takes place in commemoration of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. A descendant of the famous Polish-Ukrainian noble family, further relative and namesake of the famous Andrej Sheptytsky, the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. What is interesting due to his descent he was called in prison “Earl.”

He was born on 8 August 1967 in Pidvolochysk (Ternopil region, Ukraine). He graduated from the military academy. He served in various locations outside the country. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he returned to Ukraine. Member of the UNA-UNSO (Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence). He is interested in history, music, and poetry.

Chronicle of repression

Andrej was detained by militia officers in plain clothes in the center of Minsk on 26 April 1996, during the Chernobyl Path. During the march, the militia did not allow people to walk on the main street of the Belarusian capital, which on several occasions lead to fights between the participants of the march and officers. He was kept in the Minsk detention center (the Volodarka prison). For some time he shared a cell with Vyacheslav Sivchyk, a coordinator of Razam movement.

He refused to use Russian during the trial, he was speaking in Ukrainian, he behaved confidently, he revealed violations and ridiculed the actions of the Belarusian authorities.

In August 1996, he was sentenced by a Minsk court to two years and three months in a penal colony. He served his sentence in the penal colony No. 19 in Mahilou. The authorities gave him status of a prisoner “with a tendency to escape and resist.” He was released on 26 July 1997. Immediately after the release he took part in a march on the occasion of the Independence Day of Belarus.

He took part in the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in Kiev in the autumn of 2004. After the opposition victory Andrej worked in the police.