The Third Congress on Political Prisoners in Belarus, #WithoutJustCause, will take place in Vilnius on May 21–22. Chief adviser to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Franak Viachorka, announced this.
The event will begin on May 19 in Poznań with a discussion dedicated to repressed youth and continue on May 21 in Vilnius. According to Viachorka, the distinctive feature of the forum is that political prisoners themselves will have the main voice.
“We are speaking not only about them, but also with them: about their thoughts, expectations, needs, and their vision of the future,” the adviser said.
He stressed the importance of keeping the issue of political prisoners in the public discourse, since despite the ongoing release of some prisoners, hundreds of people remain behind bars and new political prisoners continue to appear.
The congress will bring together human rights defenders, politicians, diplomats, representatives of Belarusian civil society and the diaspora. Head of the United Transitional Cabinet Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will also take part.
There will be no live broadcast. Advance registration is required to participate.
The Congress program is available at the following link.
