In full hockey uniform, President Aleksandr Lukashenko slides off the ice to give an interview to a Belarusian journalist.

- Virus? Do you see any virus flying around here or? No, and I don't either, he says, laughing.

The video clip with the Belarusian president has gone viral. In another clip, he speaks to serious government members. He says, quite seriously:

- Vodka is not only good for washing your hands with, drinking 40, 50 grams of liquor also kills the virus.

He also recommends a sauna two, three times a week, and tractor driving against the corona.

- It's nice to see people driving a tractor. In the fields no one talks about viruses, they drive tractors. The tractor heals everything.

Arrested for leader

Lukashenko is apparently hoping to save the country from the pandemic through denial. Those who say to him run the risk of being jailed. Sijarhej Satsuk is a famous Belarusian dig journalist. After an editorial on an independent news site, he was arrested, his daughter Anna Satsuk tells SVT over skype.

- My dad wrote that our president ordered the authorities to silence the media for spreading panic with their news about the virus. Dad wrote that the president's order creates more panic than the news itself, says Anna Satsuk.

She says that Sijarhej Satsuk also questioned why the authorities do not comply with WHO recommendations and do not impose any restrictions on reducing the spread in the country.

It took three days for the police to arrest him. However, he is not accused of spreading panic, but of corruption. According to prosecutors, Sijarhej has received bribes in connection with a previous series of articles he wrote about the corruption within the Ministry of Health. However, Anna Satsuk believes the arrest is related to the article about corona.

- I can't say for sure, but I think it became the trigger. He was arrested three days after publication, while the article he was charged with was written over a year ago. Otherwise, it would be a strange coincidence, ”says Anna Satsuk.

Two pictures

State and independent media report completely different images of the situation around corona. The official figures tell of very few infected cases. According to Anna, few believe in them. She believes that the lack of information leads to panic in society.

- Most people keep the children away from school and many isolate themselves voluntarily, although there are no recommendations on this from the authorities, says Anna Satsuk, who herself works from home on behalf of her employer.

Her father Siarjhej Satsuk has been released from custody and is currently under house arrest pending trial. He risks between three and ten years in prison.