Relatives of political prisoners in Belarus have urged the Pope to raise his voice against current “lawlessness” in their country, and to intervene on behalf of some of its estimated 650 political prisoners.
“Thousands of citizens have ended up in prison, just because they defended their right to live in a democratic free country and opposed the violence and crimes of the regime”, said the petition, signed by a five women. “Our relatives remain free-spirited, even while in prison, and these are people the world needs. However, Belarusian political prisoners, now more than ever, also need the world's support....The doors of the Church have always been open for those seeking justice and peace, so we hope for your support now.”
The appeal, published by Belarus's ecumenical Christian Vision organisation, was sent amid preparations for the installation of Archbishop Iosif Staneuski, formerly an auxiliary in the western Grodno diocese, as head of the country's Minsk-Mohilev archdiocese.
It listed 21 prisoners whose lives were in danger because of health problems, and said family members believed the Pope's authority could “help in their liberation and save their lives”.
“We were forced to turn to you by the situation in our beloved Belarus, the monstrous violence and injustice happening to the citizens of our country,” the signatories told Pope Francis. “Our loved ones are kept behind bars, tortured and deprived of the most necessary things, held in inhumane conditions without medical care in the midst of a pandemic, and now also deprived of letters, their last connection with the world... We ask you to pray for them and raise your voice against the lawlessness happening in Belarus.”
The Minsk government marked Belarus’s first National Unity Day in mid-September by releasing 13 prisoners held since President Alexander Lukashenko’s discredited August 2020 re-election, prompting a call by the Vatican nuncio, Archbishop Ante Jozic, for a fuller amnesty.
However, Christian Vision’s moderator, Natallia Vasilevich, told The Tablet the Pope had not responded to previous appeals, including a December 2020 letter from 2020 letter from Sviatlana Tsikhanovskaya, Belarus’s exiled opposition leader, and a September open letter from a Catholic political prisoner, Ihar Losik, warning that many detainees had contemplated suicide.
In a recent report, the independent Polish-based Belsat news agency said new public order charges had been brought against Volha Zalatar, a 39-year-old Catholic mother with five young children who was detained in March while taking her daughter to a music lesson for allegedly “creating an extremist formation”. It added that Zalatar, who faces up to 20 years' jail, had helped the families of arrested protesters, but had been beaten and tortured to force her confession after having evidence planted by police.
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