Today’s program of the Belarus Days in Brussels began with the opening of the “Unbroken” exhibition, dedicated to the imprisoned human rights defenders of the Viasna Human Rights Center. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered an address, emphasizing their incredible courage and praising the exhibition as a symbol of the struggle for freedom.
“Today, we launched an exhibition in the European Parliament about true freedom fighters – five courageous Belarusians: Ales Bialiatski, Andrei Chapiuk, Uladzimir Labkovich, Marfa Rabkova, and Valiantsin Stefanovich.
Imagine, a real dream team of human rights defenders! Led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Viasna founder Ales Bialiatski! Our very own Marvel superheroes. For years, they tirelessly worked in defense of political prisoners in Belarus and, as often happens in dictatorships, became political prisoners themselves.
And yet, our human rights defenders are ordinary people, not superhumans. Life in prison is extremely difficult for them, as the regime has labeled them as ‘terrorists’. They face severe restrictions on communication with other inmates. They are denied parcels, letters, and access to basic necessities. They have been sentenced to extremely long terms – from 6 to almost 15 years.
Today, those behind bars cannot speak for themselves. Let us be their voices.”
