Lithuanian MP declares solidarity with jailed Belarusian Greens leader
Dźmitryj Kučuk,Tomas Tomilinas (left to right)
February 4, Pozirk. Lithuanian MP Tomas Tomilinas of the center-left Union of Democrats “For Lithuania” has become a symbolic godfather of jailed Dźmitryj Kučuk, former chairman of the outlawed Belarusian Greens Party, Parłamiencki Kanał reported.
Tomilinas announced the move last week at the meeting with Anatol Labiedźka and Dzianis Kučynski, aides to Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja. He is one of 428 politicians who have joined the solidarity initiative since 2020, according to Libereco, the Swiss-German human rights group.
On Christmas Eve, Kučuk was sentenced to six years in a Belarusian prison on charges of violent disorder and calls for international sanctions.
Kučuk became the seventh party leader in Belarus to end up behind bars after he was arrested a year ago while attempting to commemorate the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian embassy in Minsk.
The Supreme Court dissolved the Greens in July 2023. Later, officials refused to register a group nominating Kučuk as a candidate for parliament.
In 2021, the politician had served 15 days in jail after he and others sought official permission to hold a protest rally.
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