Postcard campaign for political prisoners in Belarus

Since summer, Belarus has been marked by violence and repression against its own people. On the occasion of Human Rights Day on 10 December, Libereco launches a postcard campaign for all political prisoners in Belarus. Join us and write a postcard or a letter to the neighbouring country of the EU.

The campaign will show the currently more than 150 political prisoners that we are thinking about them. At the same time, every postcard sends a signal to the authoritarian regime, too: That human rights violations in Belarus will not be tolerated and will be closely monitored abroad. The more people participate, the better!

To ensure that each of the many political prisoners receives postcards and letters, we have developed a random generator that assigns a different prisoner to each person taking part. Each time you reload this page, you will be offered a different political prisoner to write to.

Please write:

Maksim Znak is a lawyer and a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council. He was detained on September 9. Znak's apartment was searched and he was taken to the Investigative Committee for questioning. The Investigative Committee said that Maksim Znak was suspected of a criminal offense under Part 3 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code (appeals to actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus). On September 18, he faced formal charges under Part 3 of Art. 361 of the Criminal Code. The lawyer declared a hunger strike to protest the charges. Address: Максим Знак СИЗО-1 ул. Володарского, 2 220030, г. Минск REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

What do I have to bear in mind when writing?

• • Please use the spelling of the address exactly as shown above.
  • The postcards have to be written in Russian or Belarusian, otherwise the postcard will not reach the prisoners.
  • Sending a postcard from Germany to Belarus costs 0.95 Euro, a letter 1.10 Euro.
  • Sending a postcard or a letter from Switzerland to Belarus costs 1.50 Franc in both cases.
  • To give the card a personal touch, write by hand if possible.

How can I participate in the campaign?

• • Anyone can send a postcard to Belarus. Take one that you already have at home or buy one, for example from your city. We keep getting feedback that this gesture is very important for the prisoners and gives them courage – even more during Christmas and holiday season.
  • Put a picture with you and your postcard on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and use the hashtag #WeStandBYyou. Take a selfie while writing the card or before you drop it in the mailbox. You can also send us the photo by email: media@lphr.org

My knowledge of Russian or Belarusian is limited? Don’t worry!

• • Online translation services like Google Translate or DeepL do a decent job, especially with simple and short sentences. It is not the grammar that counts, but the gesture!
  • You can be as creative as you like: You don’t have to use words, you can also draw something, for example.
  • Alternatively, you can use one of the following templates and just copy the message.

Templates:

The number of long-term detainees is rising steadily

In the first days of the protests against Lukashenka’s self-proclaimed victory, thousands of people were arrested and the regime’s violence resulted in deaths and injuries on the streets. When the first prisoners were released a few days later, the first reports of severe torture in Belarusian prisons reached the outside world.

Since August 2020, more than 30,000 people have been detained or protested peacefully for change and new democratic elections. However, not all of them have been released after a short time.

The number of political prisoners was already at 20 prior to the election. By the beginning of December, the number had risen to over 160 people. The political prisoners have already been unlawfully behind bars for several months. Their arrests are clearly politically motivated, while the sentences are disproportionately high. They are also denied independent legal counsel. Furthermore, many human rights defenders deplore inhumane accommodation and insufficient care for the detainees.

Prior to the election of the Belarusian president, the regime mainly arrested people who participated in or reported on the election campaign for opposition candidates. Among the 160 political prisoners are bloggers, journalists, members of the Coordination Council, journalists, students and human rights defenders – many of them are central figures of the protest. Some of them have been known to the regime for a long time and are therefore unpopular persons. The goals behind this are simple: to intimidate people in order to nip the protest in the bud.

“It is a gift to receive a letter from abroad”

“The Belarusian people are tired”, said Svetlana Tikhanovskaya during her visit to the Netherlands in November. Showing solidarity and giving hope is therefore the order of the day. Everyone can make a contribution. Tikhanovskaya, whose husband is one of the political prisoners in Belarus, said: “People in prison are as happy as a child when they receive a card. It is a gift to receive a letter from abroad. It shows that Europe is on our side”.

For more information on the situation in Belarus, you can visit the website of our Belarusian partner organisation Viasna. On the website you will find information about the current political prisoners and their stories, as well as detailed information about the human rights situation in Belarus: www.spring96.org.