World Culture Figures Demand From Lukashenka To Clarify Fate Of Political Prisoners

• 15.08.2023, 10:05

The letter is signed by the Nobel Prize laureates as well.

Thirteen world culture figures have demanded from Aliaksandr Lukashenka in an open letter to clarify the fate of Belarusian political prisoners, including Mikalai Statkevich, Maryja Kalesnikava, Viktar Babaryka, Maksim Znak and Siarhei Tsikhanouski, writes the website of Radio Svaboda.

"You ensure your power only by violence. Complete isolation of prisoners is torture. However, prisoners are not your property. Does the word 'humanity' still mean something to you? Where are they?" the letter states.

Noting that "dozens of other political prisoners" have disappeared, the authors write: "We look at Belarus and will not stop asking: where are these people?"

The letter was signed by Nobel Prize in Literature winners Elfriede Jelinek (Austria, 2004), Herta Müller (Romania - Germany, 2009), Olga Tokarczuk (Poland, 2018), as well as writers and poets Salman Rushdie (India - UK), Durs Grünbein (Germany), Wolf Biermann (Germany), Margaret Atwood (Canada), Tomas Venclova (Lithuania), Peter Nadas (Hungary), conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim (Argentina-Israel-Germany), pianists Igor Levit (USSR/Russia-Germany), Andras Schiff (Hungary-UK) and violinist Gidon Kremer (USSR/Latvia-Germany).

We would like to remind that nothing is known about Mikalai Statkevich, Maksim Znak and Maryja Kalesnikava since February, and about Viktar Babaryka since the end of April.