During the Munich Security Conference, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.
She handed over documents from Belarusian human rights defenders regarding the latest wave of repression, the situation in prisons, and lists of political prisoners in critical condition. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that the situation is catastrophic and requires immediate intervention.
She called on the High Commissioner to support humanitarian releases, the cessation of the “incommunicado” isolation practice, and to ensure access to detainees.
Tsikhanouskaya also shared information on the successful release of two political prisoners in coordination with the United States and the wave of humanitarian releases that took place at the end of last year.
Additionally, Tsikhanouskaya submitted a document outlining proposed steps for the release of political prisoners and the cessation of repression, urging for more decisive actions in this regard.
The planned presentation in March of the report by a group of independent UN experts on the human rights situation in Belarus was also discussed. The report documents evidence of crimes against humanity committed by Lukashenko’s regime against the people of Belarus.
