German embassy sends postcards to political prisoners to show they are not forgotten
December 23, Pozirk. The German embassy in Minsk has sent greeting cards to Belarusians “serving unjust sentences” and demanded freedom for all political prisoners ahead of the Christmas season.
“They voiced or wrote their opinion, demanded their guaranteed freedoms and rights, demonstrated peacefully or were politically active,” the German mission said on Facebook. “For this they were arrested and convicted.”
These people miss their families and friends, especially during holidays such as New Year and Christmas, it noted. The postcards are meant to show the whole world and the prisoners that they have not been forgotten, it said.
According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, censors filter out most of the letters addressed to political prisoners. Usually, only correspondence from their immediate families gets through.
About 1,300 people are serving politically motivated prison sentences, activists say.
Journalist Radzivonava imprisoned for contributing to Germany's Die Tageszeitung
December 18, Pozirk. Journalist Volha Radzivonava has been sentenced to four years in prison for cooperating with the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office said. According to the prosecutors, Radzivonava contributed a series of articles "with remarks …