Belarusian Opposition Leader Appeals for Husband's Release After 421 Days Without Contact

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled leader of Belarus's opposition, has not received news from her imprisoned husband in over a year. She believes this is part of the government's strategy to eliminate opposition and conceal evidence of mistreatment.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus's exiled opposition leader, has expressed concern about the well-being of her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who has been held incommunicado for 421 days. Siarhei, a potential challenger to Belarus's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, was arrested in 2020 and sentenced to 19 ½ years in prison.

Tsikhanouskaya believes the government's refusal to allow contact with her husband is a deliberate strategy to demoralize him and make him believe that the world has abandoned him. "For more than a year, I don't know about Siarhei's condition," she said. "I don't know if he was allowed to receive any cash or whether he has any toothpaste or toilet paper."

In addition to Siarhei, other prominent opposition figures have been held incommunicado for over a year, including Maria Kolesnikova, Mikola Statkevich, and Maxim Znak. Viasna, Belarus's leading human rights group, estimates that around 1,400 political prisoners are currently detained in the country, including Viasna's founder, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.

Viasna's representative, Pavel Sapelka, described the incommunicado detentions as "a form of torture not only for the political prisoners but their families." He believes it is a strategy employed by the government to punish opponents and hide evidence of abuse.

The August 2020 election, which handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office, was widely condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and Western countries. The aftermath witnessed extensive protests, which were met with a harsh crackdown involving the arrests of 35,000 individuals and brutal beatings by police.

Tsikhanouskaya has called for increased international pressure on Belarus to release political prisoners and respect basic human rights. She also appealed to the United Nations, urging them to intervene and demand information on the missing activists.

The UN has expressed concern about the situation in Belarus and its disregard for human rights. It has requested information about the missing activists but has yet to receive a response from the Belarusian authorities.

The international community has condemned the Belarusian government's actions and imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to the regime. The European Union has imposed asset freezes and travel bans, and the United States has sanctioned several high-ranking officials.

However, despite the international outcry, the Lukashenko regime has refused to change course. It has maintained a tight grip on power and continues to suppress dissent with impunity.

Tsikhanouskaya remains hopeful that international pressure and the resilience of the Belarusian people will eventually lead to change. She urged supporters to continue speaking out and supporting political prisoners in any way possible.

"It's our duty to speak loudly about them and support them in every possible way," she said. "We will not give up on them. We will fight for their release and for the freedom of Belarus."