Belarus' political prisoners: What should be done to free them?

Moderator:

Katsiaryna Lozka, Research Fellow at the Oxford Belarus Observatory

Speakers:

Olga Gorbunova, Social Affairs Representative of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus

Ken McBain, UK Representative, Libereco

Selbi Durdiyeva - Postdoctoral Researcher, Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace and Conflict, Center for Conflict Studies, Philipps University, Marburg

According to Belarusian human rights centre Viasna, around 1500 Belarusians remain behind bars on clearly politically motivated grounds. This number is likely to be much higher and includes men and women, minors and the elderly, as well as foreign citizens. Political prisoners are being held in horrific conditions, and their lives and health are in serious danger. Holding political activists incarcerated is used by Lukashenka’s regime as an instrument of fear to keep pressure on the society, to break its pro-democracy spirit, to create an atmosphere of total fear and to destroy horizontal connections in Belarusian society. The release of political prisoners is one of the central priorities of Belarusian democratic politicians and civic activists. However, a lot of discussions are going on recently about the strategy, tools and ways to achieve this vital goal.

While political prisoners can only be released by the official Minsk, what kind of leverage might be in the hands of the international community and Belarusian democratic politicians and civic activists to put pressure on the regime? Is there space for negotiations regarding political prisoners in Belarus? What support do political prisoners and their families need? These and other questions will be discussed in a panel discussion organised by the Oxford Belarus Observatory, in partnership with the Research Center of  Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Office, and the IGSD, University of Warwick.