Lech Walesa expresses his solidarity with charter97.org journalists

• 26.05.2010, 8:18

The former president of Poland and legendary leader of Solidarity trade Union expressed his support for the website harassed by the Belarusian authorities.

“I support you. Struggling for democracy and struggling for freedom are necessary, and the prices are high. Remember: the more you pay today, the more you will have tomorrow. It is worth it, believe me. The Solidarity activists, against whom criminal cases were initiated by the communist authorities, are ruling Poland now. I was a “criminal”, too. They have a reason to persecute you. You are being persecuted for your struggle. You evidently create a danger for somebody. If you are thrown into prison in Belarus, I personally will advocate for you,” former president of Poland Lech Walesa told charter97.org journalist Natallya Radzina at a meeting in Gdansk.

The Solidarity Movement leader met on May 25 with journalists of Eastern Partnership participants, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

We remind that pressure on journalists has increased in Belarus. Two criminal cases were initiated against independent news website charter97.org. Its office was searched and 8 computers were seized. Charter97.org journalist Natallya Radzina, “Narodnaya Volya” newspaper journalists Svyatlana Kalinkina and Maryna Koktysh, “Novaya Gazeta” correspondent Iryna Khalip are witnesses in one of these criminal cases. The journalists are often called in for interrogations, their computers were seized. Natallya Radzina was beaten during the search.