Antifake / Factcheck

08 ліпеня

Belarusian Girl Died of Cancer in Warsaw. Azarenok Blames Family's Political Views

Her cancer was first detected in 2019.

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Fake appearance date: 03.07.2024
On June 27, 2024, 18-year-old Belarusian Liza Brilevskaya passed away from cancer in Warsaw. Grigory Azarenok, the Belarusian pro-government media person, connected this tragedy to the girl’s family leaving Belarus for alleged political reasons. The Weekly Top Fake team caught the host in three lies.

On July 3, 2024, Belarus celebrated Independence Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation. To mark the holiday, Grigory Azarenok hosted an eight-hour livestream, during which he accused the opposition of causing the Belarusian girl's death from cancer. Here’s what he in particular claimed:

“An 18-year-old Belarusian girl died in Warsaw. Yes, we will talk this on the holiday, because everyone chooses their own path. She passed away on June 27. In May, they raised  139,000 euros for her cancer treatment to be admitted to Charité. The money was not enough. Where is the money? I would remind you that cancer treatment in Belarus is free. And Liza could have lived. [...] But this 18-year-old Belarusian girl could have lived if it weren't for your Svetkas [Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — ed], Franaks [Franak Viachorka — ed.] and all the other scum that's been poisoning these kids' minds. Or did her parents flee in 2020 when she was little, she was 14 years old? So the parents were brainwashed. This person could have lived, they would have cured her in Belarus. For free,” Azaryonak said.

Liza and her parents remained in Belarus throughout 2020 and resided in Grodno. Her cancer was first detected in 2019, and she underwent treatment at the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology, and Immunology in Borovlyany. There, she received chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and in 2022, she had surgery. Thу fact confirmed by documents shared by her parents on Instagram.

In an interview before the fundraising campaign for Liza's treatment in May 2024, her mother told why the family ended up in Warsaw:

“Liza was finishing 11th grade, it was the graduation ceremony, plans for enrollment, and we were off to another checkup in Borovlyany. And there it was — another recurrence. [...] We contacted several clinics, and eventually, Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka in Warsaw responded. They had a treatment protocol planned for six blocks of chemotherapy. But after the second block, the doctors decided that Liza's body was too weak to endure it all, and it had become dangerous for her life.”

The family's only hope was surgery at Charité Hospital in Germany, which the Belarusian state did not cover. The money that people raised was enough for the operation, but Liza passed away before it could be performed. And in Warsaw, as well as in Belarus, Liza was treated for free.