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  • Support for political prisoners

    How Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office helps political prisoners
    and how you can contribute
    Human rights organizations estimate the number of people in Belarus imprisoned on political grounds to be at least 1295 This means thousands of families suffering from repression.

     

    One of the political prisoners is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, sentenced to 19.5 years in prison. Like many other political prisoners, Siarhei is kept incommunicado, with no contact with either lawyers or family.

    The key priority of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is supporting political prisoners and striving for their release. Below, you can read brief information about the situation with political prisoners and learn what we are doing and how you can help.

    Facts and statistics

    Since 2020, around 65,000 people in Belarus have been to detention centers on political grounds. People face prolonged persecution and torture, with their relatives also subjected to repression.

    According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, there are currently 1295 political prisoners in Belarus, while Dissidentby reports 1403.

    At least 1,945 people have served their sentences and been released.
    Some prisoners are kept incommunicado, without any contact with the outside world. The regime has tortured six political prisoners to death.  

    Many cases of persecution are unknown to human rights defenders because being recognized as a political prisoner might worsen the person’s situation in prison.

    Human rights defenders maintain a humanitarian list that includes political prisoners who are at particular risk in prison.

    The latest information states that there are 252 people on this list.

    97% of people convicted on political grounds report experiencing psychological violence in prisons, while 22% report physical violence.

    “Every day in detention is another day that political prisoners sacrifice for a free Belarus. Every day that political prisoners spend behind bars we should struggle for their freedom. 

     

    Please, speak out loudly about our political prisoners. Support them and their families with letters, parcels, and donations if it is safe for you. Help can’t be little. Everything we do contributes to a great cause”.

    Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

    What Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office does to help

    Advocacy and awareness

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    • In every speech and during all international visits and meetings, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks about political prisoners and calls for measures for their release. 
    • The Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya submits humanitarian lists to the UN and other international organizations to advocate for the release of political prisoners on humanitarian grounds. 
    • Volunteers of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office have launched Freedom Postcards, an initiative aimed at promoting the issue of political prisoners and raising funds to help. The Office has supported programs from A Country to Live in Foundation, the “Letters in Grid” initiative, Politzek.me, and BY_help.

    Support for initiatives for the rehabilitation of political prisoners and assistance to their families

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    • In April 2024, the International Humanitarian Fund was established in Norway to support political prisoners and their families. Other countries have also contributed to it.
    • We strive to organize rehabilitation programs for former political prisoners and the families of the repressed. We have successfully launched such programs in Norway and Italy in collaboration with partners. 
    • We support relocation programs for the families of the repressed.

    International solidarity campaigns

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    • We support Libereco’s campaign to find symbolic godparents for political prisoners. More than 400 members of parliaments from different countries have joined the campaign, connecting with the families of political prisoners and providing assistance in various ways. 
    • We organize solidarity days for political prisoners, joint rallies and campaigns with the diaspora, fundraising events, concerts, and exhibitions.
    • We support international solidarity campaigns, including billboards, portrait projections of political prisoners, and cultural events.

    Cooperation with international partners

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    • We hold meetings with representatives of the UN, the Holy See, and the Red Cross to secure access to political prisoners. 
    • We facilitate fundraising for the work of Belarusian human rights organizations that support political prisoners and their families.

    Collection and documentation of evidence

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    • We analyze evidence of the regime’s crimes, provide legal assessments, and negotiate mechanisms to hold the perpetrators accountable. 
    • We compile lists of judges and prosecutors for sanctions.

    How you can help

    Raise awareness about Belarus.

    If it is safe for you, tell your acquaintances or online audience about the situation in Belarus and ways to help political prisoners.

    Take patronage over a political prisoner

    Dissidentby invites prominent people, initiatives, and organizations to become guardians of political prisoners. If you are a member of parliament in your country (or a MEP), we invite you to join Libereco’s campaign. You will receive the contact information of the prisoner’s family to arrange for practical assistance.

    Write a letter.

    You can send a letter to a political prisoner easily and for free through online platforms.

    Send a parcel.

    For details on what to include and how to send it, see the guide from Viasna.

    Make a donation

    See the list of aid initiatives below.

    Aid initiatives and organizations

    Viasna: legal and informational assistance

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    The Viasna Human Rights Center provides comprehensive assistance to political prisoners and their families.

    Viasna’s legal service advises on issues of politically motivated persecution and helps to file complaints with state and international bodies. Viasna also documents human rights violations.

    For advice or to report violations, contact Viasna’s hotline (@ViasnaSOS) or write to @zvarot96 for legal assistance.

    A Country to Live in Foundation: financial, legal and psychological support

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    A Country to Live in Foundation provides financial support to political prisoners, organizes thematic campaigns in support of their families, and provides psychological assistance.

    The foundation also supports prisoners after release, including through help with the legalization of stay in another country

     

    For legal help, contact @stranafundyd_YD_bot. For psychological help, contact @stranafund_psy_Bot. Help with migration issues: @strunufund_nigris_bot.

    Freedom Postcards: merch with political prisoners’ art

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    Freedom Postcards finds artworks by political prisoners, tells stories of these works, creates merchandise and products with them, and raises donations to help prisoners. The initiative aims to remove the stigma of “criminals” imposed by the regime’s propaganda on political prisoners.

    Donations collected by the initiative are redirected to Dissidentby, which provides care packages for political prisoners.

    Dissidentby: material support

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    Dissidentby collects information about politically motivated criminal and administrative persecution.

    Dissidentby also provides material support to political prisoners, including through financing care packages, parcels and money transfers. The initiative helps former political prisoners find work.

    You can write a letter to a political prisoner for free through the Dissidentby website.

     

    Write a letter: https://dissidentby.com/by/letter

     

    Volunteer initiative for correspondence with political prisoners

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    You can send a letter of solidarity from anywhere in the world by filling out an online form. Volunteers will write your letter on paper and send it.

    “Write a Letter to a Political Prisoner”: meetings for writing letters together

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    The “Write a Letter to a Political Prisoner” initiative organizes weekly meetings for writing letters to political prisoners and runs the “Letter Bank” project.

    The initiative strives to support people in prisons with letters and raise awareness of the situation with human rights violations in Belarus.

    Find announcements of the meetings on Instagram or on the website of the Belarusian Youth Hub.

    Politzek.me: a support platform for political prisoners

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    Politzek.me is a support platform for political prisoners that shares information about the repressed and ways to help them.

    The platform also raises donations to help the families of political prisoners collect care packages and pay legal bills.

    Volnyja: support for former political prisoners

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    Volnyja helps former political prisoners with resocialization after release by providing medical, financial, and psychological support.

    The initiative also organizes a mentoring program. Mentors support former prisoners during the difficult path of resocialization. Anyone can become a mentor.

    Politvyazynka: assistance to politically imprisoned women

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    Politvyazynka is a media project engaged in informational support for politically imprisoned women in Belarus and advocacy for their release.

    The project also sends care packages to prisons and helps politically imprisoned women and their children.

    International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus

    more

    The International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus is a special project of the human rights organization Legal Initiative, founded in partnership with Belarusian and international human rights defenders.

    The committee records cases of torture, advocates for the interests of the victims, helps them legally, analyzes information about torture, and conducts public communication.

    BYSOL: financial and organizational support

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    The BYSOL Foundation provides financial assistance to political prisoners and their families, as well as supports those who have been released and other repressed people. BYSOL works to encourage mutual assistance in crisis situations.

    On the foundation’s website, you can donate to a fundraiser for a specific person or family, or to a general fundraiser.

    The foundation also helps victims of repression escape Belarus.

    Association of Political Prisoners of Belarus

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    The Association of Political Prisoners of Belarus unites former political prisoners forced into exile because of their political activity or civic position.

     

    The association helps former political prisoners settle in new countries by advising them on integration, legal, and social adaptation and provides support in solving difficulties in the first months after moving.

    One Contact: help in complex circumstances

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    The One Contact information and consultation platform helps people who have been released from prison access all the information they need about the support available to victims of repression in Belarus. On the platform, you can contact an operator confidentially and free of charge to receive advice on assistance in the country where you are located.

    Dapamoga: support in Lithuania

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    Dapamoga is a non-profit organization that unites activists from Lithuania and Belarus. Dapamoga supports people in exile in Lithuania with finding housing, jobs, medical care, psychological help, and other needs. Dapamoga also has a webpage with answers to frequently asked questions about living in Lithuania.

    Office of Belarus Democratic Forces in Prague: support in Czechia

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    The Office of Belarus Democratic Forces in the Czech Republic helps former political prisoners who are either in the Czech Republic or planning to move there. It provides assistance with the legalization of stay and adaptation processes. It connects repressed Belarusians with Czech NGOs where they can receive initial financial and psychological support.  

    You can contact the Prague Office via email and, in urgent situations, via messengers.

    Humanitarian Ambulance Service: comprehensive aid

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    The Humanitarian Ambulance Service unites four organizations that help those facing repression. Together, BY_Help, BYSOL, Dissidentby, and A Country to Live In offer a full range of support to those affected by repression — from covering fines and legal fees to supporting families of political prisoners, evacuation, rehabilitation, and integration abroad.  

    Find the contact details for specific inquiries on the website. 

    eHealth: medical assistance

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    The project helps people receive medical consultations remotely and securely. Through eHealth, you can obtain an online consultation with a specialist in the required field. Psychological support is also available. The platform does not require mandatory payment for services.

    By_Help: assistance for victims of repression

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    The By_Help campaign supports former political prisoners in Belarus and abroad with rehabilitation, helps those persecuted by paying for legal services, compensates for fines, and provides support to victims of torture.

    RE:BELarus:
    mutual assistance network

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    RE:BELarus is a community of like-minded people, including former political prisoners and repressed people from Belarus. RE:BELarus can consult you about job opportunities, housing rentals, legal documents in Lithuania, and more. They also guide people on where to seek medical assistance in exile, where to find language and retraining courses, and which Belarusian organizations help political prisoners and the repressed.

    If you want your initiative or organization to be on this page, please let us know on Telegram or via email at askoffice@tsikhanouskaya.org.