Political Prisoners Taken To Ukraine Held A Press Conference
100- 14.12.2025, 17:33
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On December 13, after the meeting between Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. Special Envoy to Belarus John Cole, 123 political prisoners were released in Belarus. All of them were taken abroad, mostly to Ukraine.
On December 14, political prisoners held a press conference in Chernihiv. It was attended by former presidential candidate Viktor Babariko, the head of his headquarters Maria Kolesnikova, human rights activist Vladimir Labkovych and political scientist Alexandr Feduta.
Organizers of the press conference banned the publication of photos, videos and quotes of those present before the end of the conference and for an hour after. The Ukrainian side feared that the building where the talk took place could be attacked by Russia. The website Charter97.org publishes the most important quotes from the press conference.
"I say thank you to Oleksandr Grigorievich for allowing the release. I will wait for this process to last", Kolesnikova said at the beginning of the conversation. She also thanked Ukrainian President Zelensky for accepting the Belarusian political prisoners, as well as her family and US President Trump.
She was then asked a question about the war in Ukraine. She refused to answer and said, "Can someone else answer it?"
Viktor Babariko said he did not have enough information to comment:
- War is always bad, it is the cause of suffering for all the countries and people that are involved. To comment on some things that you know nothing about, we know one-sidedly, you can't. Everything we know, we know from the Belarusian TV. There's nothing to comment on - we know nothing about the war.
Vladimir Labkovich said that political prisoners were taken to Ukraine without passports. They were given only a certificate of release. The human rights activist thanked Ukraine for accepting political prisoners.
The ex-banker also commented on the information that he was beaten in the colony in 2023:
- I'll talk only about myself, the dry truth. In 2023, I started having uncontrollable losses of consciousness. As part of such a loss, I woke up with broken ribs, 23 dissections, and a damaged lung. All of this in a moment of unconsciousness. To say I was beaten is beyond me. I am grateful to the medics who provided professional help, pumped out fluid from my lung, and I was transferred to the republican hospital. I had no further loss of consciousness.
The key question of the press conference, as journalists note, was the attitude of the released to Russia's war against Ukraine. It was repeated in different variations five times.
The participants of the press conference, however, avoided specific answers.
Maria Kolesnikova refused to answer the question about the Belarusian volunteers. Viktor Babariko said that "everyone makes his own decision", but personally he "opposes the war".
Babariko said that his son Eduard continues to be in the colony in Orsha.
At the same time, he noted that one should not forget about other people who remain in prison. "I will not rest until not only my son, but also thousands of people stop being there," said the former presidential candidate.
Babariko said that he does not regret participating in the "election":
- The decision was correct at the time of its adoption. I have no regrets. We did not lose - we won. We did not get the prize, but we were stronger.
Kolesnikova spoke about the question she was asked all five years of her imprisonment:
- I made this difficult choice very easily, because I was and still am sure that I supported the right idea, I supported my values, which are expressed by Viktor Dmitrievich and his son Eduard. I am not alone, there are many of us.
The journalists asked the political prisoners about their immediate plans.
Kolesnikova named "music, art, theater, travel" among her priority activities for the near future, Fedut - non-political manuscripts, and Babariko - promoting people's self-realization. Labkovich noted that he wants to continue practicing human rights.
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