Three new godparents from Poland, the Czech Republic & Scotland for political prisoners in Belarus
As part of #WeStandBYyou campaign, Olga Richterová (Česká pirátská strana, Czech Republic), Alexander Burnett (Scottish Conservative Party, Scotland) and Michał Kobosko (European Parliament, Polska 2050, Poland) are taking over the godparenthood of Natallia Lashch, Uladzimir Lavor and Tomasz Biaroza.
- Olga Richterová
Natallia Lashch, born in 1993, is a lawyer and has been in detention since 17 August 2022. She was arrested for providing information to the ‘Black Book of Belarus’ and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for ‘incitement to hatred’ (Article 130) and ‘illegal acts in relation to personal data’ (Article 203-1). The regime revoked her lawyer’s licence and in 2023 added her name to the list of so-called extremists and terrorists in order to further isolate her.
Olga Richterová is a member of the Czech parliament for the Pirate Party. This is the third time she has adopted a political prisoner in Belarus. She explains:
“Natallia is one of the over a thousand political prisoners of totalitarian oppression in Belarus. She was detained, called a “terrorist”, and sentenced to six years in a penal colony. All this because she leaked the personal data of government and security officials involved in the systematic repression to a Telegram channel exposing the tormentors of Lukashenko’s regime. It is because totalitarian regimes are based on fear of the truth being exposed and fear of losing power. George Orwell’s famous novel 1984 summarises totalitarianism precisely: “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.” And we, who are lucky to live in the free world after experiencing the horrific dictatorships of the twentieth century, cannot disregard this. I was delighted to hear that the two previous political prisoners under my patronage had been released. It is a clear sign that we can change the world by showing that we care.”
- Alexander Burnett
Uladzimir Lavor and his friends were arrested in September 2022 for hanging Ukrainian and opposition Belarusian flags from the facade of a high-rise building in Minsk. The group had previously discussed their anti-war action on a Telegram channel, which was later classified as an extremist organisation. Uladzimir was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months’ imprisonment for “forming or participating in an extremist formation” (Article 361-1) and “promoting extremist activities” (Article 361-4).
Alexander Burnett is a member of the Scottish Parliament. This is the second time he has become a godparent to a political prisoner in Belarus. Speaking about his support for Uladzimir Lavor, Mr Burnett said:
“Uladzimir’s imprisonment, alongside the hundreds of others also imprisoned in Belarus, is truly appalling and I am honoured to join the call for his release. It is unacceptable that he remains in prison for simply displaying Ukrainian and Belarusian flags from a high-rise building. Together with elected representatives across Scotland and Europe, I stand firmly against the suppression that is taking place and urge the Belarusian Government to respect the human rights of its people and release those who have been wrongfully detained.”
- Michał Kobosko
Tomasz Biaroza is a Polish citizen who has been detained in Belarus since 18 August 2022. Tomasz has two small children waiting for him at home. His property (caravan) has been confiscated by the regime. He was also forced to give an interview in a propaganda film. Like many other foreign citizens, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for “espionage” (Article 358-1).
Michał Kobosko is a Polish member of the European Parliament and Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with Belarus. He has agreed to become Tomasz Biaroza’s godparent and states:
“When we talk about Belarus, we want to talk about concrete people and their stories. At the end of the Belarus week in Brussels, I took care of a Pole, Tomasz Biaroza, who was accused of espionage and agent activity in Belarus. Biaroza’s trial took place in the summer of 2023 behind closed doors at the Brest Regional Court. It is known that the Pole was sent to a penal colony, but we do not know to which one and for how long. He undertakes to watch Lukashenko’s hand in this case. Tomek, we stand with you!”
