#FreeViasna: Latest news about jailed Viasna human rights defenders
On September 17, #FreeViasna campaign of solidarity with the imprisoned Viasna members was launched. Here’s the latest news about them.
A former political prisoner shared her impressions of meeting Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski in pre-trial detention center in November 2022
“I met Ales Bialiatski in the catacombs on Valadarka [detention facility in Minsk] while we were escorted to visiting rooms. We were talking in a low voice; he asked me what I was charged with and said with a smile, ‘Have a little patience. It will all be over soon. You have to show a little patience’. I congratulated him on his Nobel Prize, and he got embarrassed and said, ‘No, no need for that.’”
- Ales Bialiatski at court.
Ukrainian Postal Service releases envelopes and stamps in honor of Belarusian Nobel laureates
Ukraine Post has produced envelopes and stamps in honor of two Belarusian Nobel laureates, the writer Svetlana Alexievich and Viasna head, human rights defender and literary scholar Ales Bialiatski. The release was initiated by a private person, Radyjo Razyja reports. Alexievich received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2015, and Bialiatski was awarded the Peace Prize in 2022.
A block of stamps and envelopes with Belarusian Nobel laureates together and individually was released.
The works of Ales Bialiatski and Maksim Znak adapted for stage performance in Sweden
The play Bialiatski, beg for mercy! will be read in Sweden at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm on April 20. The stage adaptation will be performed within the DRAMATEN.DOC project under the artistic direction of the Belarusian-Swedish writer and director Dzmitryi Plaksa.
Zurich hosted an action of solidarity with Belarusian political prisoners
The participants remembered Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski among others. The Belarusian diaspora in Switzerland, local human rights and civic activists, the head of the Swiss branch of Libereco Lars Bünger, and former political prisoners Natalia Hersche and Volha Klaskouskaya attended the action.
Valiantsin Stefanovic sent a letter from jail
Viasna received a letter from Valiantsin Stefanovic, Viasna deputy chair and vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in which he talked about his mood, his preparation for the colony and the passage of time.
“I have no certain illusions, not anymore. I set myself up for a long parting with the free world, with my beloved, dear people. I miss my children very much. The separation from my family is probably the most challenging thing for me here. No one will ever give this lost time back to me; it's gone, it's gone irrevocably.
Therein lies the tragedy of this whole situation. Imprisonment is like death. I wrote about it once before. You’re maybe not dead, but you’re erased from life for a long time, and life goes on; it goes on but without you. But I firmly intend to endure it all and return to this world.”
Valiantsin Stefanovic: “I firmly intend to endure it all and return to the free world”
Three Viasna leaders have been kept in custody for 21 months
It has been 21 months since the arrest of Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovic, and Uladzimir Labkovich. On 14 July 2021, they and the other Viasna activists were searched. The human rights activists were accused of smuggling and financing group actions that grossly violated public order.
On March 3, 2023, Judge Maryna Zapasnik sentenced the Viasna activists to lenghty jail terms: Labkovich received seven years in prison, Stefanovic was sentenced to nine years, and Bialiatski’s verdict was 10 years. The human rights activists pleaded not guilty to any charges brought against them.
Marfa Rabkova has been behind bars for 31 months
- Artist Olga Yakubouskaya has painted Marfa Rabkova as part of her series of prominent Belarusians portraits.
Coordinator of Viasna’s volunteer network Marfa Rabkova was detained on September 17, 2020. The human rights defender was charged under several articles of the Criminal Code and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
On appeal, Rabkova's sentence was reduced by three months. The sentence came into force, and she was escorted to the Homieĺ colony.
Amnesty Nederland urges to support Marfa Rabkova
Amnesty Nederland urges to support the coordinator of the Viasna Volunteer Service, Marfa Rabkova, and send a corresponding appeal to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, demanding the immediate release of the human rights activist. Until then, the human rights group urges to provide Rabkova with access to medical care and treatment per international human rights standards, particularly the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
For the past two weeks, there was no news about the Viasna volunteer Andrei Chapiuk and Homieĺ branch head Leanid Sudalenka
Andrei Chapiuk was sentenced together with Marfa. Both are on the “terrorist list”, so they are also not allowed to receive money transfers in the colony.
There was no news from the head of the Homieĺ branch of Viasna Leanid Sudalenka last two weeks.
Springtime is Viasna time! In April, celebrate Viasna's birthday with us!
On April 26, Viasna, whose name means ‘spring’ in Belarusian, celebrates its 27th birthday. However, this occasion is marred by the lengthy jail terms of six organization members. Ales Bialitski, Valiantsin Stefanovic, Uladzimir Labkovich, Leanid Sudalenka, Marfa Rabkova, and Andrei Chapiuk remain behind bars, while others had to run and continue their important work from abroad. Viasna remains active and has been helping Belarusians in their struggle for rights for 27 years, despite severe repression and pressure from the regime.
There are many ways to join the celebration and support Viasna human rights defenders:
- Make a donationorbecome our patron on Patreon
- Send a postcard or letter of solidarity to jailed human rights defenders. It is also possible to submit your text online
- Leave words of support or congratulations on the virtual board
- Devote a poem, song, drawing, or any other artwork to Viasna. Please send it to viasna@spring96.org and post it on social media using the hashtag #FreeViasna
- Join our team of volunteers and change the world for the better
- Think of your own way to support Viasna and share it with us
And remember, our strength is in our solidarity!
