Sari Essayah, member of the European Parliament and the European People’s Party Group, has taken on a prisoner’s godparenthood for Mikolai Dziadok.
Sari Essayah, Member of the European Parliament, said:
“I would like to express my deep concern about the human rights situation in Belarus. By adopting a political prisoner I call on the Belarusian authorities to end immediately human rights violations in Belarus. In addition, I remind that it is of the utmost importance that European decision makers aim to maintain the political dialogue alive and to work, as far as possible, to help and support Belarusian human rights defenders.”
The Prisoner’s Godparenthood campaign for political prisoners in Belarus was initiated by the human-rights organisation Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights, to support the prisoners and their families. Currently, 7 parliamentarians have taken on godparenthoods for political prisoners in Belarus.
Mikolai Dziadok, member of the “Belarusian Anarchists”, was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment in a medium-security-colony on 27 May 2011. Dziadok had been unlawfully detained since September 3rd 2010. The sentence is based on a procedure which violated several of the convict’s and of the witnesses’ procedural and human rights.
Belarusian and international human-rights organisations view Mikolai Dziadok as a political prisoner and are calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
