Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held a briefing in Vilnius today, a year after the last reports about Siarhei Tsikhanouski’s status and whereabouts. He has been kept incommunicado for a year, deprived of contact with the outside world. Since March 9, 2023, he has been denied meetings and appointments with lawyers and doctors, communication with family members, or any information about what is happening in the world. By exerting physical and psychological pressure, the Lukashenka regime seeks to break the will of its opponents.
International human rights mechanisms recognize incommunicado detention as one of the most serious human rights violations, alongside enforced disappearances. It is not only Siarhei Tsikhanouski who is kept incommunicado in Belarus. Maksim Znak, Viktar Babaryka, Maryia Kalesnikava, Mikalai Statkevich also are – among others.
Speaking at the briefing, the leader of democratic Belarus stated that the international community has no right to abandon political prisoners in isolation and must make efforts to secure their release as soon as possible.
“Demand an end to the brutal practice of ‘incommunicado’ detention in Belarusian prisons. You have the power to save lives. And this is not a political issue. This is a humanitarian issue! Political prisoners must be granted access to adequate medical care and allowed communication with their lawyers and families”, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya noted, addressing the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and other world leaders.
