21.05.2023, 17.30–19.30
Rue de l’Épée 2, Bruxelles
L’Ascenseur, café associatif et radio
Dear friends, we invite you to take part in a meeting of solidarity with the political prisoners who are now imprisoned in Russia and Belarus. We will tell you about them and about the ways you can support them. We will also help you to write a letter or inscribe a postcard to one of them.
The political prisoners in Russia and Belarus are people who expressed their protest against the existing government, opposed the war in Ukraine, or who simply tried to live as free people without hiding their views or beliefs. They are all innocent of the crimes they are accused of. Many of them showed great civic courage in their opposition to power. In the prisons of Russia and Belarus, there are not only Russians and Belarusians – many Ukrainian citizens are detained as well (especially those who resisted the annexation of Crimea), as well as citizens of other states. All of them need your support.
May 21st is an important date for many reasons. This day (the third Sunday of May) is celebrated in Ukraine as a day of Remembrance for the victims of Soviet repressions. May 21st is also the birthday of Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989), the well-known Soviet human rights activist and dissident whose ideas for a free future of the people of the former USSR (that have seemingly been lost again) suscitated hope for many years. Finally, it is a most recent and bitter date: May 21st is the day of solidarity with Belarusian political prisoners, since Belarusian activist Vitold Ashurok died in custody on this day two years ago.