Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “In the past weeks, many have been busy discussing the disappearance of Lukashenka, his health, and missing reports about him. But remember how long we have had no reports about many political prisoners.
It has been 23 days now since the last reports of Viktar Babaryka’s whereabouts and health. It has been 100 days since the last reports about Maksim Znak, and 89 days since we last heard about Ihar Losik. Maryia Kalesnikava underwent surgery in the hospital, and for 94 days now, that has been the last thing we heard about her. I have no information regarding the condition of my husband – I have not heard from him for 72 days.
It took 95 days of total uncertainty for the prison administration to condescend to respond to Maryna Adamovich, the wife of Mikalai Statkevich. He has been kept in a solitary cell measuring 1×3 meters for the past six months. Sometimes the administration transfers him to a punitive isolation cell. Yet, there is still no communication with him.
Propagandists take schoolchildren on “trips” to prisons, trying to convince them that there are no repressions, horror, or deaths. But all of this is blatant lies. Here is what I want to say to all these “tour guides”: Show Viktar Babaryka. Show Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Maksim Znak, Ihar Losik, and all of those whom you are keeping in prisons. Stop hiding the political prisoners from their families, lawyers, and the international community.
The regime deprives political prisoners of any communication with the outside, naively believing we will all forget about them, the whole world will forget about them. But we will never let this happen. On May 21, we will vocally remind the whole world about our heroes.”
