7 November 2012
Today, on the invitation of the Office for a Democratic Belarus, Natallia Pinchuk, spouse of the imprisoned human rights defender Ales Bialiatski and Maryna Adamovich, wife of the former presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich, who was jailed after the 2010 presidential elections, visited Brussels.
The aim of the trip was to inform key decision-makers in the EU institutions about the state of health and the conditions in which all Belarusian political prisoners are being held. The delegates appealed to the European community to keep the high level of attention to the problems of Belarus: in first instance, support the struggle for freedom of those punished for their political convictions and participation.
Spouses of Bialaitski and Statkevich were received by the European Parliament’s President Martin Schulz and the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle. They met with key EEAS officials and took part in a joint meeting of the Committee of Human Rights (DROI) and the Delegation on Relations with Belarus in the European Parliament. Pinchuk and Adamovich thanked the EU representatives for solidarity and help in efforts to free their husbands and other political prisoners who remain behind the bars.
