Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today, the editor-in-chief and CEO of TUT.by were sentenced to 12 years in prison each. You know, before 2020, TUT.by was just a website for me where I read the news every day. Later on, I got to know the people behind it, saw the journalists and editors stand up for each other, and representatives of all Belarusian media support their colleagues in hard times. Of course, the verdict against Maryna Zolatava and Liudmila Chekina is another attempt by the regime to eliminate honest journalism in Belarus. It is also a personal revenge against these wonderful women and great professionals.
I wish I could hug their loved ones and say, "Look at the way your colleagues organized their work". Look at how the people Maryna and Liudmila hired and taught continue their work. How journalists keep up their spirit and make "blame it all on TUT.by" merchandise as the regime blames them for all the problems in our country. I see this work, I see the eyes of the people behind it. And I have absolutely no doubt that all of Liudmila's and Maryna's values will prevail, and they will finally be free. And until the world can hear their voices, we will be their voices”.
