Wilmington, Delaware (Issuewire.com) - As over 900 political prisoners face fatal health conditions inside Belarusian penal colonies, BRA petitions international leaders to prioritize human survival over diplomatic comfort, exposing institutional monopolies and financial disconnects.
The Belarusian Representative Assembly (BRA), exercising its formal representative mandate on behalf of civil society, has officially submitted a comprehensive Statement of Claim & Support to the heads of state, parliamentary leaders, and diplomatic representations of the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Norway
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The filing formally anchors and expands upon the emergency appeal issued on October 20, 2026, by 135 former Belarusian political prisoners. The initiative brings to light a severe structural rift between the immediate survival needs of detained citizens and the prolonged inaction of Western-backed political monopolies.
I. THE HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY BEHIND BARS
According to human rights registries, at least 900 recognized political prisoners-and hundreds more uncounted-remain incarcerated under severe state persecution in Belarus. At least nine citizens have already died under state custody.
The physical condition of multiple high-profile detainees has reached a point of irreversible crisis:
Impending Blindness: Human rights advocate Vatslau Oreshko has suffered complete loss of sight in prison, while 65-year-old pensioner Olga Maiorova (serving a 21.5-year sentence) faces imminent total blindness due to denied medical care.
Active Oncology Behind Bars: Aksana Shaliapina, Tatsiana Kolos, and Siarhei Kabarchuk have been diagnosed with active cancer inside penal colonies without access to specialized oncology treatment.
Draconian Sentences for Seniors and Parents: 71-year-old Iryna Melkher is serving a 17-year sentence despite critical health complications. Anna Korneenko was detained while nursing her five-month-old infant and has been separated from her child for over three years.
Eduard Babaryka has remained in continuous confinement for over six and a half years.
II. THE OPEN LETTER: "NO POLITICAL GOAL IS WORTH HUMAN LIFE"
On October 20, 2026, 135 former political prisoners - including Viktar Babaryka, Maryia Kalesnikava, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Maryna Zolotava, Tatsiana Kuzina, and Mikalai Laban-issued an Open Letter to European Leaders.
The signers established an uncompromising moral baseline: "No political goal is worth human health and life".
The former hostages directly petitioned European institutions and Western governments to become active participants in securing prisoner releases.
They demanded the deployment of all available leverage- including direct diplomatic channels, negotiation formats, sanctions pressure, and economic incentives-to rescue critically ill hostages.
Furthermore, they insisted that releases must lead to permanent solutions, rejecting forced exile and the ongoing cycle of fresh re-arrests.
III. INSTITUTIONAL MONOPOLIES AND RHETORICAL DEFLECTION
Despite the urgent plea from 135 former hostages, established political leaders and traditional human rights figures declined to endorse the initiative.
Rejection of the Appeal: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski refused to sign the collective letter.
In an interview with dekoder, Bialiatski publicly opposed diplomatic concessions and urged European politicians not to lift economic sanctions, arguing that hostage releases risk becoming a "carousel" and turning human lives into a "permanent commodity"
Simultaneously, Bialiatski announced the registration of the "Ales Bialiatski Foundation" in Warsaw to focus on global peacebuilding initiatives.
Deflection of Responsibility: In a video address published on October 27, 2026, political office leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya stated that "the true address for demands is Minsk".
She urged public figures not to debate who desires freedom more and called on the opposition not to divide democratic forces - a stance that critics and former prisoners view as deflecting accountability away from Western diplomatic mobilization.
IV. FINANCIAL DISCONNECT: €9.45 MILLION ACROSS SIX YEARS
Financial disclosure documents from Lithuanian state registries reveal significant monetary accumulation within traditional human rights entities during the peak of state repression.
Fiscal records for the two primary Lithuanian-registered entities of the Vyasna Human Rights Center (Pavasaris / Vyasna-1 and Krasavik / Vyasna-2) document a 6.5-fold increase in annual revenue between 2020 and 2025.
The accumulation of €9,457,908 over six years highlights a stark structural contrast: while major institutions expand multi-million-euro budgets and pivot toward global policy forums, grassroots demands for dedicated hostage rescue negotiations remain unbacked by the political establishment.
V. FORMAL DEMANDS OF THE BELARUSIAN REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY (BRA)
In its official submission signed by President & CEO Tamara Queen, BRA outlines four non-negotiable mandates for international policymakers:
1. Human Lives Over Political Convenience:
International institutions must explicitly place the physical survival of political prisoners above political expediency, diplomatic comfort, and bureaucratic delays.
2. Unified Transatlantic Front (USA, EU, UK, Switzerland):
Mobilizing diaspora networks and U.S. decision-makers, BRA demands a synchronized alliance uniting North American and European leverage to exert continuous pressure until every prisoner is released.
3. Complete Elimination of Repression:
Prisoner releases must not be used as a cover for forced permanent exile, nor leave those remaining behind exposed to immediate re-arrest. International policy must target the complete dismantling of the persecution apparatus.
4. Direct Inclusion of Civic Authorities:
International strategy must integrate the direct leadership of former political prisoners and representative civic bodies, eliminating closed-door decision-making by isolated political elites.
Representatives of the Belarusian Representative Assembly (BRA) and former political prisoner signatories are available for immediate comment, background briefings, and broadcast interviews.
Media Contact
Belarusian Representative Assembly (BRA) *****@assembly.belarusian.org 1207 Delaware Ave, Suite 4559, Wilmington, DE, USA 19806 https://assembly.belarusian.org/
