Baggebo shelf. The Kullen chest of drawers. The Brimnes bed. All popular Ikea products that are said to have been produced by prisoners in one of the world’s strictest dictatorships. This is revealed in a report from the French Disclose. Swedish Ikea is the world’s largest furniture chain. Last year, the turnover was a whopping 41.9 billion euros, around NOK 440 billion. Ikea has terminated all contracts with Belarus. Photo: IROZ GAIZKA / Afp The convicts in Belarus have not been allowed to share in the profits. – The prisoners earn next to nothing, not even a rouble, says Lizaveta Merliak to news. She is chairman of the board of the organization Salidarnast, which supports the trade union movement in Belarus, formerly known as Belarus. President Viktor Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994. Aleksandr Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994 and is a close ally of Putin. Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP Ikea has traded with Belarus for a number of years. But in June this year, the company ended all contracts, says sustainability manager at Ikea Supply, Christina Niemelä Ström, in an email to news. She writes that the company takes the accusations seriously and is concerned. The company says they themselves have started an investigation to find out if something wrong has happened. – At the moment we have found no proof of the accusations, writes Ström. Recently, the organization Earthsight also showed that Ikea may have used convicts in the production of furniture in Belarus. Peace Prize winner in prison On Saturday, Ales Byalyatski received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for democracy in Belarus. He received the award together with the Ukrainian Center for Civil Rights and the Russian Memorial. Byaljatski is imprisoned in his home country and his wife Natallia Pintsjuk therefore receives the award on his behalf. She compares the prisons in Belarus to torture. – The prisoners are often put in so-called punishment cells, which are very cold and cramped, where it is forbidden to sit for long periods, she tells news. Political prisoners also have to work in prison. It was recently reported that opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka, who is serving a 14-year sentence, is among the prisoners forced to work long hours outside in the cold winter. Prisoners who refuse to work risk longer sentences and worse terms of service, says Lizaveta Merliak to news. Using the transparency law Solibel, a Norwegian support organization for democracy in Belarus, has asked a number of Norwegian furniture chains if they too have subcontractors who use forced labour. – We know Jysk sold beds “Made in Belarus” as recently as last autumn, says spokesperson Rasmus Olsen to news. Rasmus Olsen has used the Transparency Act to find out who Norwegian furniture chains trade with. This summer, the new Transparency Act came into force. It gives everyone the right to get answers to how businesses handle human rights and working conditions during the production of goods. The companies have three weeks to respond. Olsen asked Jysk, Bohus, Bolia, Skeidar and Ikea Norge for this at the end of November. Jysk confirms to news that they ended all production in Belarus last December. The last product made in Belarus was the Vestervik bunk bed. Made in Belarus. Bohus says they have no goods produced in the authoritarian regime. Skeidar says they have no direct agreements with Belarus, but that they have a few subcontractors for chips and wood. Riot police in Minsk arrested thousands of protesters after the 2020 elections. Photo: Ulf Mauder / DPA Have to sew clothes for the police Lizaveta Merliak says the companies should know that there may be prisoners involved in the production of furniture in Belarus. – It is a long tradition within the wood and textile industry to use prisoners in production, she says. Lizaveta Merliak, chairman of Salidarnast Photo: Privat Merliak encourages all companies to take responsibility for workers’ rights. – There are international rules. Everyone must take responsibility for protecting human rights in countries they work in. They must make sure that workers in poor countries also benefit from being part of the supply chain of democratic countries, says Merliak. The trees that are used in shelves and beds that are exported also belong to the people of Belarus, says Merliak. – The forest is our natural resource. They belong to the people. She says the state in Belarus uses many types of forced labour. – The regime is a world champion in violating workers’ rights and basic human rights. They have been for almost three decades, she says. – In the labor camps for women, for example, they have to sew clothes for the police. It’s like a double punishment, says Merliak. She says the number of political prisoners is increasing day by day. Among the around 1,500 political prisoners now, there are 33 leaders and activists from the trade union movement, she says. – These are my close friends and comrades. Some of them have sentences of up to 15 years, just for doing union work. Merliak herself recently fled her home country after several of her colleagues were imprisoned. Opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovskyj was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2021. Photo: SERGEI KHOLODILIN / AFP Used political prisoners from East Germany Rasmus Olsen emphasizes that all companies in Belarus are closely linked to the authoritarian regime. Many of the structures from the Soviet era remain. – The industry is mainly state-controlled, he says to news. In one of the cases discussed by Disclose, Ikea’s subcontractor Mogotex purchased textiles from the IK-2 youth prison in 2019. The EU imposed sanctions on the head of IK-2 due to “inhumane treatment of political prisoners.” The prisoners earned less than two euros a month. In 2012, Ikea said it “deeply regretted” using products made by political prisoners in former East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Ikea is said to have used convicts in Belarus – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
