Thousands march to mourn Belarusian woman raped in Warsaw

March 7, Pozirk. Several thousand people marched through Warsaw on the evening of March 6 to mourn Lizavieta, a Belarusian woman who died after being raped last month.

The rally took place at the improvised memorial at Żurawia 47, where she was attacked.

Belarusians, Poles and Ukrainians took part in the march, co-organized by nonprofits from the three countries. Warsaw is a hub for thousands of Belarusians fleeing repression and Ukrainians fleeing the war.

“Her name is Liza. She was 25, had brown eyes. This is nearly all I know about Liza,” said Nasta Bazar, a feminist activist, noting that they both fled political reprisals in Belarus.

“What we have in common is that we are both women, and unfortunately, both exposed to violence,” she added.

“Liza died in silence because she could not shout. Today, we will shout for her,” she went on to say.

“We defend ourselves, we are afraid, we are courageous, we shout but we cannot stop violence because to stop violence someone must stop being violent,” she appealed to men.

“We all want one thing – every woman and every man should be safe.”

Jolanda Gawenda, of Poland’s Feminoteka, criticized police for not responding resolutely enough to the crime.

Lizavietta was raped and nearly strangled in downtown Warsaw in the early morning of February 25. She died in hospital on March 1 without regaining consciousness.

According to the Polish police, a 23-year-old suspect was arrested hours after the incident. He is accused of a sex crime, robbery and attempted murder with the use of a dangerous weapon.