Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya demanded to see the case at the trial in absentia
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “The other day the Supreme Court announced its plans to hear a criminal case against me in my absence. I have already commented on these “trials in absentia”. They violate basic human rights and freedoms. That is why I will not let such a “trial” against me be overlooked. The lawyers of my […]
January 13, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on achieving the release of political prisoners
“Various human rights organizations estimate the number of political prisoners in Belarus to be at least 1,439 now (Viasna Human Rights Center’s estimate), with thousands more people not recognized as political prisoners though convicted on political grounds. This number grows by about a hundred people monthly. Behind bars, people face humiliation of their human dignity […]
January 12, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on consistency against the regime and its complicity in the war
“We understand that the Ukrainian authorities would not want to provoke Lukashenka. But the idea that this will stop him is wrong. In early 2022 he made promises to Ukraine of no invasion. We know how it ended up. Lukashenka never keeps his word and will do what Russia tells him to do. He is […]
January 12, 2023
Digest of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office on Education and Science, December 2022 / Issue 21
Please send information about everything related to education in Belarus to our secure and anonymous chatbot @eduOST_bot. Tell us the news from your educational institution or government department regarding repression and various forms of pressure from authorities, write to us about facts of corruption and new orders that seem unreasonable or irrational to you. We […]
January 11, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the Opening of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Vilnius office, 2023
“Dear friends, Дарагія сябры, Let me congratulate you on the opening of Radio Liberty’s office in Vilnius and express my gratitude on behalf of all Belarusians who strive for freedom and democracy. I am sure that this office will open new opportunities for Belarusian journalism and the entire democratic movement. Indeed the success of our […]
January 10, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s speech at the expert discussion: “The United Democratic Forces of Belarus: strategic agenda for 2023+ and international support”
“Let me express my gratitude to Oxford Belarus Observatory for organizing this discussion and helping us to keep Belarus on the international agenda. I am glad to see among the participants minister Reinsalu. Dear Urmas, your personal involvement in the Belarus issue means a lot to us. Estonia has also shown incredible power of empathy and […]
January 10, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Maryna Zolatava, Liudmila Chekina, and all TUT.by employees are the pride of Belarusian media”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Maryna Zolatava, Liudmila Chekina, and all TUT.BY employees are the pride of Belarusian media. They have done more for Belarus than all the propagandists, prosecutors, guards, and other stooges present in the courtroom. In any normal state, they would be rewarded for their professionalism instead of being behind bars. But Belarus today is […]
January 09, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the trial against human rights defenders
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Ales Bialiatski is the hero and pride of Belarus. Forever. No one will ever take it away from him. Neither the regime, nor the judges, prosecutors, or jailers who have kept him behind bars since July 2021. The “trial” started today against Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski and other Viasna human rights defenders – […]
January 05, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya left a message in the Book of Condolences for former pope Benedict XVI
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited the Apostolic Nunciature in Vilnius today to leave a message in the book of condolences for former pope Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI cared about Belarus, thus continuing the approach of his predecessor, St. John Paul II. It was during His Holiness' pontificate that the Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See […]
January 04, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 16-20
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya intends to visit Davos and take part in the World Economic Forum. The Belarusian leader will speak on the main stage along with the heads of state. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya plans to stress the role of Belarus in the new security architecture in Europe, discuss measures to prevent the use of Belarusian territory in […]
January 03, 2023
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisors
Effective today, the status of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's representatives are changing to become advisors. Find their contacts below: Senior Political Advisor Alexander Dabravolski: alexander@tsikhanouskaya.org. Chief Advisor Franak Viacorka: franak@tsikhanouskaya.org. Diplomatic Advisor Dzianis Kuchynski: dzianis@tsikhanouskaya.org. Advisor for the Constitutional Reform and Interparliamentary Cooperation Anatoli Liabedzka: constitution@tsikhanouskaya.org. Advisor on Legal Affairs Kristina Rikhter: legal@tsikhanouskaya.org. Advisor on Education and Science Tatiana Shchyttsova: […]
January 03, 2023
New Year’s Greetings by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya 2023
Dear Belarusians, how have you been doing? How did the weeks before the New Year go for you? I am not sure if you hear this often, but you do an incredible job. You build a life despite the circumstances that make planning even for two weeks impossible. You raise free and talented children despite […]
December 31, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appointed Kristina Rikhter as Advisor on Legal Affairs
Kristina Rikhter has been practicing law for 10 years, dealing in recent years with both national and international human rights mechanisms. Ms. Rikhter joined the Office in mid-2021. Kristina Rikhter, along with other lawyers, focused on Belarusians who fled to Poland from Ukraine and Belarus after the war and resolved problems and delays in procedures […]
December 29, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “None of us can allow ourselves to adjust to this totalitarian injustice”
“The other day I talked to A Country to Live in Foundation activists about our political prisoners, the inhumane conditions created on purpose for them in prisons and colonies, and, of course, what we can all do for them even as our opportunities to help them are limited. The activists told me the stories of […]
December 28, 2022
By late 2022, 13 national parliaments have formed groups For Democratic Belarus. What do they do and who needs them?
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representative for Parliamentary Cooperation Anatoli Liabedzka commented on the groups and progress in their formation: “As of today, 13 national parliaments have formed groups For Democratic Belarus: in Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Sweden, the UK, Ukraine, and the US. And the establishment of such parliamentary groups is […]
December 27, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appointed Volha Harbunova as the United Transitional Cabinet Representative for Social Issues
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appointed Volha Harbunova as the Representative for Social Issues of the United Transitional Cabinet. Volha, a former political prisoner, will focus on organizing systematic assistance to political prisoners and their relatives. She will also strengthen the Cabinet's international work on the issue of political prisoners in Belarus. The United Transitional Cabinet Representative for […]
December 26, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya explains why trade in political prisoners is inadmissible
“Over the past two years I have held hundreds of meetings, and at each of them I brought up the issue of releasing political prisoners, stopping torture, repression, or at least improving conditions in prisons. Through the UN and the Red Cross we have been trying to save the lives of those in bad physical […]
December 25, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wished Belarusians a Merry Christmas
“With all my heart, I wish you a happy holiday, dear Belarusians! Tonight is the night when families gather around the table to celebrate Christmas. This is when we believe in miracles again, like we used to in our childhood. We believe that the parish will have their Red Church back. We believe that Zmitser […]
December 24, 2022
Belarusian students will be free to enter universities and continue their studies in Estonia
In his letter, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu informed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office that: – Estonian universities will not apply any restrictive conditions to the admission of Belarusian students; – Belarusian students are eligible to apply for a long-term visa or residence permit to study in Estonia, which implies that they may also be admitted to […]
December 24, 2022
A mural in honor of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski was unveiled in Vilnius
Today, December 21, a mural in honor of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski was unveiled in Vilnius, right in front of the embassy of Belarus. The ceremony was attended by Lithuanian Vice-Minister Mantas Adomėnas, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Senior Advisor Franak Viacorka, Lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office Kristina Rikhter, as well as Ales' colleagues and friends.
December 21, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the public trust in the regime’s initiatives
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “The other day the director of a store in Mahilyow was given a suspended two-year imprisonment sentence for raising the price of cheese by 26 kopecks [10 cents]. It did not take long for the absurd ban on price increases to be used as another senseless repressive instrument. When I heard this, I […]
December 20, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on the anniversary of the 2010 Belarusian protests
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today is the 12th anniversary of 2010 Belarusian protests. To be honest, in 2010 I did not yet understand the importance of what was happening on this day on the street. But now, when I remember this day, I see that Belarusians’ way to freedom did not begin in 2020 or even in […]
December 19, 2022
United Transitional Cabinet established Association of Belarusian Veterans to support Belarusian volunteer fighters in Ukraine
The Association of Belarusian Veterans was formed by veterans from various Belarusian voluntary units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its mission is to support Belarusians after they fight in the ranks of the AFU, as well as communicate with the relatives of killed and injured soldiers and the families of those currently seeing duty […]
December 17, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya expresses her condolences to the family and friends of Aleh Hulak
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today Aleh Hulak, chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, a prominent Belarusian, professional lawyer who has been steadfast in defending the rights of every person, passed away. It is hard for me to even comprehend this news, because only a week ago I met Aleh Hulak when the Nobel Prize was awarded to Ales […]
December 16, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Trials in absentia violate the basic rights and freedoms of Belarusians”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “It is clear that the regime's special proceedings (trials in absentia) violate the basic rights and liberties of Belarusians. And the criminal prosecution of me personally in special proceedings is not an exception. Now, in the example of the first such trial, we are witnessing the regime's treatment of the rights of the […]
December 15, 2022
Accountability for perpetrators: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office answers Belarusians’ questions concerning justice
1) Are you in touch with NGOs and the International Accountability Platform for Belarus? Do you know what's the progress in investigating crimes against humanity? Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office maintains working communication with a great number of actors working to bring representatives of the Lukashenka regime to justice. At the level of lawyers and experts, we […]
December 15, 2022
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Any deal with the regime comes at the cost of thousands of lives in Belarus”
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “For more than two years I have been talking about Belarus with international partners, some of whom sincerely wanted to help, while others were not much interested in the discussions. Without a doubt, there have been many more of the former. But there have also been the latter. At first, when meeting those […]
December 15, 2022
Grain transit and regime’s initiative to revoke Belarusians’ citizenship on the agenda: results of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to Finland
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya completed her visit to Finland, where she arrived at the invitation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. President Sauli Niinistö received Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at his presidential residence. She noted the consensus in Belarusian society on the inadmissibility of Belarusian troops' participation in the aggression against Ukraine and stressed that the deployment of Russian […]
December 15, 2022
“Contradicts Article 10 of the Constitution.” Lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office on the regime’s initiative to revoke Belarusians’ citizenship
Lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office Kristina Rikhter commented on the amendments to Belarus' Law on Citizenship: “The adopted amendments to the Law on Citizenship are clearly targeting the Belarusian citizens forced to flee the country for fear of persecution. It may also affect those convicted under the so-called "extremist" articles who fled to other countries. […]
December 14, 2022