“Today the "court" handed down two politically motivated sentences at once – to journalist Andrzej Poczobut and rail partisans Yury Selvich and Siarhei Pliashkun. 8, 14, 16 years of imprisonment.
As a professional journalist, Andrzej Poczobut has been defending human rights. The sentence of 8 years in a high-security prison shows the regime's attitude toward journalism, toward the truth, as well as broadly toward Poland and all democratic countries, which could be partners and friends, not enemies to our people.
Our railroad partisans are real heroes who tried to stop a war crime. 14 and 16 years in prison for Yury and Siarhei – this is the regime's attitude to brave people and opposition against aggression.
These sentences demonstrate what the regime wants Belarus to be: a country isolated from the world, where there is no law and no journalism, and where you can't stand against war.
My heart is with Andrzej, Siarhei and Yury today. With their families, loved ones, and friends. And with each of the thousands of Belarusians who are now in prison. Dear fellows, the regime is taking revenge on you for your strength, conscience, and personal freedom. But unlike you, the regime has no future.
The future of Belarus is people. Every human life is a sacred value. This means we must use every opportunity to save people from the hell that is created for them in prisons. And only by fighting for everyone can we come to a new Belarus, where the most appreciated value is not the regime, but the human being”.
