Three new godparents from Germany for political prisoners in Belarus
As part of #WeStandBYyou campaign, Peter Heidt (Freie Demokraten), Luiza Licina-Bode (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) and Bruno Hönel (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) have taken on a godparenthood of Aliaksei Barodka, Siarhei Shametska and Cheslau Kananovich.
- Peter Heidt
Aliaksei Barodka was an independent lawyer who campaigned on behalf of political prisoners. He was arrested on 23 January 2023 for his activities and comments on the Internet denouncing the numerous rights violations in Belarus. A court subsequently sentenced Aliaksei to 6 years’ imprisonment for alleged “incitement to hatred” (Article 130). He was also disbarred from practising as a lawyer.
Peter Heidt is a member of the German Bundestag for the Freie Demokratische Partei. He becomes the godparent of Aliaksei Barodka and explains: The hopeful awakening in Belarus in the summer of 2020 has been followed by repression on an unprecedented scale. The number of political prisoners is increasing by the week. There are now 1,500 political prisoners in Belarusian jails in appalling conditions for campaigning for freedom and democracy. The Belarusian authorities are also systematically cracking down on lawyers who represent people in political cases or raise awareness of rights violations, such as Aliaksei Barodka. He was arrested in 2023 and arbitrarily sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. As a member of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid Committee, I support Aliaksei Barodka through my godparenthood. In doing so, I am creating publicity and giving him back his voice, which Lukashenko wants to suppress by force.
- Luiza Licina-Bode
Siarhei Shametska used to work for a large Belarusian company and was a member of the free trade union Rabochy rukh, which called for strikes in 2020 following the rigged presidential elections. He was arrested on 21 September 2021 and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for ” creating or participating in an extremist formation” (Article 361-1) and “high treason” (Article 356).
Luiza Licina-Bode is an SPD member of the Bundestag, a member of the legal affairs committee and a trade unionist herself. This is the second time she takes on a godparenthood in support of a political prisoner with a trade union background. She says: “The situation in Belarus has deteriorated massively for civil society after the rigged presidential elections. For the democracy movement, for independent media, for human rights organisations. But above all for independent trade unions. Many have been forcibly dissolved, their leaders arbitrarily arrested and sentenced in show trials. This also applies to Siarhei Shametska. As a social democrat, it is particularly important for me to support free and independent trade unions. They guarantee fair working conditions with fair wages. And they are an integral part of the democratic movement in Belarus! That is why we must fight to make independent trade union work possible again. That is why I am campaigning for the immediate release of Siarhei and his comrades. To Siarhei, to Rabochy Rukh and to the Belarusian trade union movement, I say #WeStandBYyou!”
- Bruno Hönel
Cheslau Kananovich is the father of two young children and was the deputy director of a company. He was arrested on 5 July 2023 and charged for his donations to a Belarusian volunteer organisation in Ukraine. The court sentenced Cheslau to 5 years’ imprisonment for allegedly “participating in or preparing hostilities on foreign soil (Article 361-3)”.
Bruno Hönel is a member of the Bundestag for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. He stands in solidarity with Cheslau Kananovich and states: “The dictator Alexander Lukashenko has been ruling Belarus for almost 30 years. What is his autocratic regime like? Violence and repression against members of the opposition and peaceful demonstrators, economic stagnation and corruption, suppression of human rights, rigged elections, censorship. Cheslau Kananovich was arrested on 5 July 2023 and sentenced to five years in prison – for making donations to a Belarusian volunteer association in Ukraine. From now on I will be Cheslau’s godparent and demand his immediate release, as well as that of all other political prisoners.”
