A Group Of Former Belarusian Political Prisoners Appealed To European Politicians
- 26.10.2026, 10:56
They are calling for help to put an end to the repression in Belarus.
A group of former Belarusian political prisoners has appealed to European politicians to help free prisoners of conscience and put an end to repression in Belarus. Below is the text of the appeal:
— We are former Belarusian political prisoners. We spent years in pretrial detention centers, penal colonies, and prisons for our views, for participating in peaceful protests, for our work as journalists, lawyers, doctors, and teachers, or for a single comment or repost. We are writing to you not as politicians or experts. We are writing as people who know what happens behind prison walls.
We know what it’s like to endure the cold of solitary confinement and to be denied medical care. We know what it’s like to be denied correspondence and visits, to spend years without the right to make a phone call, to face pressure on loved ones, and to live in uncertainty, not knowing if anyone even remembers you. We know that behind bars, people are sustained by one thing: the certainty that those on the outside haven’t turned their backs on them, that people are talking about them, and that someone is looking out for their well-being.
Belarus is one of the world’s leaders in the number of political prisoners. According to human rights activists, there are about 900 of them in Belarus, though the actual number may be much higher. Every day behind bars takes a toll on their health and robs their loved ones of hope.
Behind the dry statistics lie real human lives, dramas, and tragedies. Nine people have already died in a Belarusian prison.
Many have seen their health deteriorate sharply. Social activist Václav Oreshko has gone blind, and retiree Olga Mayorova is also at risk of completely losing her sight, while the court sentenced her to twenty-one and a half years in prison! Oksana Shalyapina, Tatyana Kolos, and Sergey Kabarchuk were diagnosed with cancer while behind bars. Several political prisoners have suffered strokes.
Many have already spent five or even six years behind bars. Among them is 71-year-old Irina Melcher. She has serious health problems, and her sentence is 17 years in prison! Eduard Babariko, the son of Viktor Babariko, a participant in the 2020 election campaign, has been in prison for six and a half years.
Mothers have not seen their children for years. Anna Korneenko was arrested while she was still breastfeeding her five-month-old son. He is now four years old and is being raised by a woman who is not his mother. Many are imprisoned as entire families: two, three, or even five people.
Thousands of people continue to serve sentences of house arrest, while thousands more live in constant fear of being detained. Repression in Belarus continues unabated: every day we hear about new politically motivated detentions and sentences.
We urge you to do everything in your power to put an end to this.
Nothing is more precious than human life. No political goal is worth people’s health and lives. We believe that for you, these are not just empty words.
We are addressing you with a request that seems obvious and of the utmost importance to us.
We call on the European Union to become an active participant in the process of releasing political prisoners and ending repression in Belarus. We ask that you use all available means to this end: diplomatic channels, negotiation formats, pressure and incentives, as well as public and private engagement. Let these efforts be consistent and coordinated, and let the release of these individuals become a permanent item on the agenda in any engagement with Minsk and in any discussions about the future of relations with Belarus.
We are grateful to the U.S. for the fact that, thanks to its diplomatic efforts, hundreds of people have already been released. However, we believe that the European Union should take a more active stance on this issue. After all, Belarus is part of Europe. It is your neighbor.
A group of former political prisoners highlights several points:
— Release must be part of a sustainable solution, not a one-time event. People who are released should not find themselves in forced exile without the right to return, and those who remain should not live under the threat of re-arrest. As long as new people are being detained, releases do not solve the problem. We must work to end politically motivated persecution.
A dialogue about people and values must be conducted together with Belarusian society. We call on the EU to listen to the diverse voices of Belarusians, including those who have been imprisoned, and to take their experiences into account when formulating decisions.
We do not presume to act as judges on matters of high politics, and we respect the diverse opinions among Belarusians on how best to bring about change. But we are united on one point: behind every decision are real people. We ask you to keep this in mind as you make decisions about the future of relations with Belarus, and to make the release of these people and an end to repression a priority of European policy.
We are ready to meet with you, tell you about what we have been through, and share what we know about the situation of the prisoners. We are ready to do everything in our power to help restore freedom as quickly as possible to those who remain behind bars.
We look forward to your participation and commitment.
The letter was signed by: Lyudmila Chekina, Marfa Rabkova, Nasta Loiko, Irina Slavnikova, Maria Kolesnikova, Marina Zolotova, Irina Zlobina, Andrey Alexandrov, Tatyana Kuzina, Mikhail Laban, Elena Malinovskaya, Daria Afanasyeva, Anastasia Kukhta, Anastasia Lazarenko, Valeria Charnomortsava, Anna Papay, Alexey Shchitnikov, Gennady Smirnov, Dmitry Semchenko, Denis Khokhlov, Dmitry Benchuk, Natalia Sheremetova, Alana Gebremariam, Olga Matskevich, Ekaterina Mendrik, Vyacheslav Smirnov, Mikhail Lapenas, Kirill Poznyak, Nadezhda Kalach, Vladimir Kalach, Tatyana Kurilina, Tatyana Stepa, Polina Polovinko, Dmitry Lukša, Kirill Kazei, Igor Satsyuk, Lyudmila Volkova, Yulia Laptanovich, Igor Laptanovich, Igor Karney, Olga Pavlova, Olga Loiko, Alla Sharko, Viktoria Grankovskaya, Anastasia Zhilska, Ekaterina Lev, Karina Protashchik, Pavel Shpetny, Elena Gnauk, Tatyana Kupchina, Anna Pyshnik, Natalia Malets, Natalia Vasilevich, Tatyana Gatsura-Yavorskaya, Anastasia Goncharevich, Alexey Bogday, Alexey Azarko, Ekaterina Khulkhachieva, Alexander Birulia, Tatyana Birulia, Sergey Voituk, Nikita Litvinenko, Sergey Salokha, Vitaly Bondaruk, Viktor Babariko, Olga Gorbunova, Alexander Andrushkevich, Ekaterina Severin, Vladimir Severin, Larisa Shchiryakova, Nikita Zolotorev, Ksenia Syromolot, Daria Chultsova.