47. FEMALE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN BELARUS
URGENT APPEAL
FROM BELARUS WOMEN’S FOUNDATION
FREEDOM FOR FEMALE POLITICAL PRISONERS IN BELARUS
Poster A2 to print : Poster Urgent Appeal
Flyer A4 to print: Flyer Urgent Appeal
Published: on 01st March 2021
Belarus Women’s Foundation is releasing this statement as an urgent call to action in response to the critical humanitarian situation of thousands of women in Belarus created by the Lukashenko regime. Belarus Women’s Foundation is calling for immediate liberation of ALL political prisoners in Belarus, their rehabilitation, reparation and hold all those involved by the Lukashenko and his regime accountable.
Dear friends in the global women’s movement, human rights groups,
politicians, political and community activists!
The Belarusian authorities continue their increased harassment of the country’s civil society. This needs to be stopped. The authorities are targeting women, children, human rights defenders, media workers, trade union representatives, and defence lawyers. This is not acceptable. Belarusians have been persecuted for exercising their fundamental rights as they protested peacefully against the August 2020 elections, which were neither free nor fair, and continued law-enforcement brutality. Thousands of politically motivated trials have taken and are taking place every day. Belarusians have been denied the most basic rights, including the right to fair trial and the right to humane treatment in custody. From the beginning of the election campaign in spring 2020 women played a decisive role in these protests in Belarus. There have been women’s marches, chains of solidarity and unprecedented acts of individual bravery.
Women have faced violence, imprisonment and rape, and threats to livelihood and their children. Many have been forced to flee the country.
Those detained are held in appalling conditions in over-crowded, lice-infected cells, denied hot water and sanitary protection. Despite all of this, women of Belarus refuse to give up.
The extent of arbitrary arrests, abductions and torture has far exceeded the capacity limits of the repressive regime. Even children, pregnant women, people with disability and elderly people have not been spared.
Countless criminal complaints of torture have been filed but none have been examined. Therefore, the perpetrators seem to be confident that they will face no prosecution for their criminal actions.
Since August 2020 in Belarus are:
- more than 35.000 arrests, detentions and abductions and this number is rising every day. About one third of them are WOMEN.
- over 1000 reports of torture (link: Human Rights Situation in Belarus in 2020. Analytical Review by Viasna (spring96.org)
- Many cases of rape perpetrated with rubber batons, electrocution and other forms of physical and psychological torture;
- more than 200 seriously injured, including minors;
- 8 officially recognised deaths and still dozens of missing persons since 9th of August who may also have been killed;
- Thousands of people have been sent into exile, some of the citizens, most of them prominent figures, have been forcefully deported out of the Belarus by the regime;
- 258 political prisoners per 01.03.2021 (updates link: Political prisoners in Belarus (spring96.org)
38 of them are FEMALE POLITICAL PRISONERS link: https://belaruswomen.org/en/political-prisoners
Achieving their release is our primary and unconditional goal.
In this regard, we, representatives of women in Belarus, call to:
- immediately and unconditionally release ALL FEMALE POLITICAL PRISONERS and drop all the criminal and administrative charges they are facing;
- immediate release of all political prisoners and their full rehabilitation;
- stop the criminal and administrative prosecution of all unlawfully detained women, politicians, democratic activists, bloggers, people who want to build a country for life, people who have suffered severely after peaceful actions for their rights.
How can you help us?
Please take part in the project „Urgent Appeal! #FreeBelarusWomen“ (Facebook-Event link: https://fb.me/e/EP6NfKFT )
I. Please share this Urgent Appeal as much as possible in your social media and/or place it on your webpage.
II. Video message ”#FreeBelarusWomen”
Please send a solidarity sign to the brave Belarusian women!
Short Video-Message (approx. 1-2 min.) - (1.) Introduction, (2.) main demands:
- immediately and unconditionally release of ALL FEMALE POLITICAL PRISONERS
- stop the criminal and administrative prosecution of all unlawfully detained women
Technical requirements for a video: horizontal orientation, please look into the camera, at the beginning of your speech count to three, then start talking. At the end of the speech also count to three and stop filming, video length 1 to max. 2 min.
Please send your video to: info@belaruswomen.org
III. Support the campaign #WeStandBYyou of Libereco
by taking over a godparenthood for FEMALE POLITICAL PRISONERS in Belarus. For more
informations:
https://www.lphr.org/en/belarus-gefangene-patenschaften-prisoners-godparenthood/
Libereco, an independent German-Swiss non-governmental organization dedicated to the protection of human rights in Belarus and Ukraine, has launched the solidarity campaign #WeStandBYyou. As part of this campaign, members of European parliaments take over godparenthood for political prisoners in Belarus.
IV. Please congratulate the female political prisoners on the International Women’s Day March 8th,
List of female political prisoners, their stories and adresses: https://belaruswomen.org/en/political-prisoners & list of addresses
V. Please use / apply frames to your profile pictures:
go to “change your profile picture” and, by using a hashtag #belaruswomen in the search field, choose one of the suggested frames. Photos/Posters of female political prisoners in Belarus for downloading
We need you to stand by us, and if we succeed, it may be one step towards the future with more peace&democracy and less dictatorships&wars.
Thank you in advance for your support
Zhivye Belarus! Viva Belarus!