Iryna Khalip writes to Svetlana Medvedeva and Lyudmila Putina

Andrei Sannikov’s wife also wrote to the wives of the presidents of France, the US, Poland and the wife of the British Prime Minister.

Khalip plans to hand in the letters for the first ladies to embassies of the countries ruled by their husbands. The letter to Svetlana Medvedeva and Lyudmila Putina has been published in “Novaya Gazeta” today.

Dear Mrs Svetlana and Mrs Lyudmila,

I am writing to you as the wife of Belarusian political prisoner Andrei Sannikov, presidential candidate on the 2010 election and as the mother of four-year-old Danila Sannikov. I hope you will understand me as mothers and as wives.

My husband was arrested on the election day on December 19 and sentenced to five years in prison just for taking part in a peaceful protest action against falsification of elections. In fact the last dictator of Europe Lukashenka avenges on him for being a strong opponent who wanted to lead Belarus out of crisis and resume good relations with the West and Russia.

The situation is critical today. The Belarusian special services are doing their best to make me a widow and my son an orphan. Unfortunately, our son already has the experience of orphancy. On December 19, I was arrested together with my husband. Our son stayed with loving grandparents, but the authorities tried to take him to an orphanage. I do not want my son to become an orphan.

You are wives and mothers, too. I beg you to persuade your husbands to take all possible measures and use all instruments to prevent physical elimination of my husband Andrei Sannikov and demand dictator Lukashenka to release him and other political prisoners. This is what the European Union has been demanding since December 20, but its demands reduce themselves to resolutions which are not taken into account by Lukashenka.

I have no doubt that you find right words to persuade your husbands to obtain the release of my husband and all those thrown into Belarusian prison only for their beliefs.

Yours sincerely,

Iryna Khalip