“You might have heard that recently the regime has begun to make plans to pardon political prisoners. They are offered to repent and plead guilty in exchange for a “presidential pardon”. Some will accept this offer, others will turn it down, but it is up to them to decide. We are happy to see them free, and we have no right to judge their choice.
We must remember that we can't let ourselves and the whole world believe that the release of several people is a solution to the crisis and dialogue with the people. Our purpose is to free everyone who is behind bars on political grounds. The real count of unfairly imprisoned is thousands, much more than the 630 people officially recognized as political prisoners by human rights defenders. Their freedom must not be a bargaining chip. This is not the way to resolve the crisis. The real way out is to free all innocently accused and hold a new presidential election in Belarus. And our team has already developed solutions for the release and rehabilitation of all unfairly imprisoned and organizing a transparent election in 60 days.
And now, we must not be deceived. We have already come a long way to freedom – and we can only reach victory together. Even if hundreds of people are released, thousands more will be left behind bars. We won’t make any compromises, we won’t make any deals with Lukashenka’s regime.
Remember: home arrest, suspended sentence, or any other restriction is not freedom either. Until a person is fully rehabilitated, they are still held hostage. And so are their blackmailed parents and children, coworkers, and friends forced to stay silent not to harm their loved ones. Until everybody is released from prison, this is bargaining, not changes. After all, what is happening in our country is terror. Therefore, we all have to be resolute and consistent. Only then, together, we can achieve freedom for everyone”.
Watch the video of Ms.Tsikhanouskaya's statement here.
