By Florian Wiedemann | Program Manager
In September, U.S. Special Envoy John Coale visited Minsk again to negotiate with Lukashenko. As a result, 25 political prisoners were granted amnesty, and a relaxation of sanctions was promised in return. We welcome the release of the political prisoners and are glad they have been freed from an inhumane penal system. However, rather than releasing them into freedom, the regime deported these people to Lithuania as 'undesirable persons'. This is a common practice that Viktoryia has experienced before, and it does nothing to change the ongoing repression in Belarus, as she states:
“This is trading. They sell us like cattle. We are a resource that can be constantly replenished in Belarus and used for profit. Humanism is completely out of the picture. I always said: he [Lukashenko] releases 10 people and imprisons 100.”Although the political prisoners in question are now safe, their forced odyssey continues, albeit under different circumstances. Instead of coming to terms with their experiences of human rights violations, they now face new challenges in forced exile. Andrei, a former political prisoner now living in exile, describes the situation as follows:
“People who leave Belarus […] have health problems, both psychological and physical. And, among all these problems that need to be solved first, this is such a serious factor. That is, we need to solve migration problems, problems of finding some kind of income, plus acute health problems. And, considering how long a person could be imprisoned, how bad the conditions could be, health problems are very serious things that have to be addressed first of all, so that they will not deteriorate.”
This fate is suffered by hundreds, if not thousands, of Belarusians. For us, solidarity means advocating for the freedom of political prisoners but also helping them adjust to their newly found freedom. In collaboration with various Belarusian partners, we support former political prisoners as they recover from health issues and come to terms with psychological trauma, enabling them to lead normal lives in freedom. Just how important our solidarity is is illustrated by the following statement by Andrei:
“I hope that the issue of socialization and assistance will be raised more often, […]. It is impossible to cope on your own without any help.”Thank you very much for your solidarity and support for people like Viktoryia and Andrei.
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