Paraglider pilot, detained in Belarus: I was lucky not to be shot down

12 days in a temporary detention facility, $600 of fine and 5 years’ ban on entering Belarus – these are the consequences of the illegal crossing the border on a paraglider.

A dweller of the Polish city of Bialystok, Marcin Duszynski, who by mistake landed in Belarus in the end of July, gave an interview to Radio Racyja.
- Why did you decide to fly in this direction?
- We always fly downwind, in order to fly as far as possible. And on that day there was the wind from the west, exactly in the direction of Belarus. It is our sport, we want to fly as far as possible. I saw the border, but I wanted to fly as far as possible.
- And how does this flight looks like technically? Do you have any gadgets with you, do you see the border is getting nearer?
- Yes, we have devices that show zones of flight, for example, towns on the border, but these maps are not exact. There was exactly a failure of technical equipment, as when I landed, I was sure I was on the Polish side – two kilometres before the border. The border is visible, but I thought that there was some space before me still.
- While being in the air, didn’t you see you were crossing the border?
- No, I didn’t see that. From the air all roads and power lines in the forest looked the same.
- And at what height did you cross the border?
- I was at the height of about 450 metres over the border. In that spot, a kilometer and a half from the border, I exactly turned and landed, as there was another meadow in front of me. I was sure it was a territory of Poland still, but I didn’t want to fly there, as I was sure I was able to reach it.
- What did you do after landing?
- It looked in the following way: I landed, called my friends, boasted of my result, as it was my record – 72 kilometres. I asked how I could return, I said I was near the village of Zaleszany, and I was going to walk there. My friend wrote me that a bus was to come to Szymki in an hour, and it was five kilometres away. I packed my things, ate, called my friends. Until I reached the village, an hour and a half passed. On my way I asked young people were I was, and they answered in Belarus. I went to the village, met a man aged about 50. I said I had problems, as I am a Pole and I had no documents, a visa, I had flown by a paraglider, and I would like to solve that problem somehow. He scratched his head, called border guards, at the same time my friends were looking for contact details of our Polish border service, in order to ask how to solve the problem.
- How were you detained?
- Two border guards arrived, they asked whether I had a visa, documents, and how come I was there. It took some time to explain that I had flown by a paraglider. They did not believe it could be packed in a rucksack. There was information that they saw me crossing the border. They had a right to shoot, but fortunately, it hasn’t happened.
- Where were you kept?
- First I was taken to the building of the border group for interrogation, than at night I was taken to Hrodna to the isolation detention facility of border guards.
- When were you told that you were detained and what charges you faced?
- They said from the start I was detained, as I had crossed the border and entered the airspace illegally, the investigation was to last for a few days.
- What incarceration conditions in the detention facility are?
- I would compare the conditions to a cellar. Several beds, a window somewhere near the ceiling. There were several Tajiks in the cell first, one of them had been flying paraglider once. He was released the next day. Then I had a cellmate, a Tajik, who spent 12 days with me, until the end. We could listen to a radio for one hour a day. There was interrogation on the first day, it was Thursday, and I landed on Wednesday. On Friday I already received a statement that I would be fined, $100, and banned from entering Belarus for 5 years, and I was to leave the country on Monday. On Monday the decision was changed, as there had been a mistake there, I was to be released on Wednesday-Thursday, but as I learnt later, an authorized officer was absent, who could have signed the relevant documents, so it lasted until Monday.
- Did you have a chance to contact your family and friends?
- After the flight I talked to my friend, he knew where I was, and informed my family. On Monday the consul was there, he asked whether I wanted anything, or whether I had any problems, for instance, with guards. From the beginning there were questions: “Where is the engine?” “How does it work?” “Why have you flown here?” There were some suspicions of espionage, drugs trafficking. All people there were very pleasant, favorably disposed, they just laughed that I am the third or the fourth Pole who tried to cross the border in this direction, as usually people do that in an opposite direction. There were several persons with Polish ancestors, we even spoke Polish.
- Are you facing anything from Polish border guards?
- The fine was changed from $100 to $600, as $100 is a fine for crossing the border on foot, and crossing in the airspace is more expensive. I am to give explanations here, but it is not a problem, I face a fine up to PLN 500. And it should be considered that in Belarus, when crossing the border illegally for the second time, one faces criminal prosecution, not administrative one, and I could be imprisoned then. It was an exciting adventure. There were many people from Iran, Tajikistan, Cuba, from Africa. They were not really feeling bored, many of them were waiting for an answer about their future for two months and more. My story ended well.
The 26-year-old resident of the Polish city of Bialystok crossed the border near Syamyonauskae Lake. He returned to Poland on Monday. After these accidents the Polish border service established a 5-kilometre zone on the border with Belarus, where paraglider flights are banned.

Kilde: http://charter97.org/en/news/2015/8/7/163548/