On February 5, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Eva-Maria Liimets. Tsikhanouskaya congratulated the Minister on her appointment and wished success in this difficult but very important work.
They discussed:
— The arrival of security officers in the Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities. Lawyer Aleh Hrableuski was detained and taken to Akrestsina Detention Centre, while director Syarhei Drazdouski, who moves in a wheelchair, spent 7 hours without movement in the Investigative Committee. It's real torture for a person. Later, Syarhei was placed under house arrest.
— 226 political prisoners and more than 1,000 criminal cases. These numbers are rising — the regime is trying to intimidate the people with terror. Courts sentence people to years in prison for flimsy reasons.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said that Belarusians continue their fight. “The regime responds very harshly, but the will of the people has not weakened,” she said. It is important to keep pressure on the regime both in and outside Belarus.
Eva-Maria Liimets confirmed that Estonia will continue to support the Belarusian people to restore the rule of law and hold new fair elections. The minister added that Estonia would continue to lobby for tougher sanctions and increase pressure for the immediate release of Belarus's political prisoners.
Estonia also joined the International Day of Solidarity with Belarus,which was held on February 7.
