“The fact that Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega are placed under house arrest and are not behind bars is good news. But house arrest is not freedom, they are still under indictment, their every move is still being watched. So they are still held hostage. We are in touch with Raman's parents – they are not told anything about their son, not allowed to communicate with him. Mr. and Mrs. Pratasevich are convinced that the regime is playing games using Raman and Sofia.
We all remember that there are more than 500 political prisoners in Belarus, and thousands more are being held on trumped-up and politically motivated charges. Bleach is still poured into prison cells, and 10 people are placed in cells for 2 prisoners, they have nothing to breathe. Prisoners are still tortured. And we will not allow trading prisoners – this is the only way to achieve freedom for all Belarusians imprisoned on politically motivated cases“.
