Mikalai Statkevich: Don’t trade in people

Trade in human beings cannot be started. Europe should adhere to its position.

Political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich made this appeal to European politicians.

Mikalai Statkevich phoned his relatives on September 29, his wife Maryna Adamovich says.

“The call was an absolute surprise,” the woman says. “Other prisoners can make telephone calls twice a month, but I don’t know why they allowed him to do this. It is perhaps the result of a visit of a high-ranking guest.”

Mikalai confirmed Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti recently visited him in prison. The meeting was held in the presence of deputy chief of the Corrections Department Syarhei Pratsenka.

Mikalai Statkevich says he confirmed the position he expressed in his final statement at the trial: the authorities should not receive money for release of political prisoners, otherwise new hostages will appear.

He asked the Apostolic Nuncio to express his thanks to the Holy Father for his attention and prayers and convey his position to European politicians. The political prisoner stressed he asked the European Union not to change its principled stance in relation to the Belarusian regime.

He said he appealed to Syarhei Pratsenka asking not to make prison staff deal with conscience and look for minor violations in order to extend the strict prison regime for him in violation of the law. “Let the Corrections Department release an order to appoint three years of maximum-security regime for me. Let them bear responsibility for this and not frame people,” Mikalai Statkevich says.

“He knows about the situation of Zmitser Dashkevich. He worries about him and advises to continue pressure to stop persecution of the political prisoner. He asked to send birthday wishes to Ihar Alinevich and Ales Byalyatski, because all attempts to send congratulations to their relatives were unsuccessful,” Maryna Adamovich says.

Asked if Mikalai knows about the release of Syarhei Kavalenka and Pavel Syramolatau, his wife answered:

”He probably knows, but I forgot to ask it. The call was absolutely unexpected. He said he thought it was the beginning of trade and links the visit of the nuncio to attempts of the authorities to come to a deal.”