Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commented on the verdict against lawyer Dzmitry Laeuski. On Sept. 9, he was sentenced to three years in prison under articles on “facilitating extremist activities” and “discrediting Belarus” for comments to independent Belarusian media outlets.
“Dzmitry is an incredibly courageous person and a professional lawyer. Back in 2011–2012, he defended Ales Bialiatski — and even then, the security forces put such pressure on him that he had to suspend his legal practice for several years. And in 2020, he was not afraid to defend those whom the regime considered among the ‘most dangerous’ — Viktar Babaryka and Maksim Znak,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
Tsikhanouskaya stressed that Laeuski always acted strictly within the law and expressed her support for his family.
“He made a principled decision to stay at home, in Belarus, because it is his country. Dzmitry always acted strictly according to the law, down to the last letter — but in modern Belarus, unfortunately, the law means nothing anymore to those who seize power.
I want to wholeheartedly support Dzmitry and his family. We will certainly inform our international partners about this verdict. It should not be the case that some people are released while others are taken hostage in their place,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
