From 29 May to 2 June, students from the Bruges and Natolin campuses wrote letters to political prisoners in Belarus. In an action organised by the cross-campus Young European Federalists (JEF) society, students wrote and sent a total of 62 letters.
According to the Belarus-based Viasna Human Rights Centre, as of 2 June, there are 451 political prisoners in Belarus. Each of the letters was individually addressed to one prisoner. In their letters, the students wished strength to the prisoners, with some students additionally sharing stories about themselves and their hobbies. For many prisoners, receiving letters is one of the few ways to communicate with the outside world.
The action took place during the Global Picket of Solidarity with Belarus, announced by the Leader of Democratic Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, for 29 May 2021. The date marked the one-year anniversary of the arrest of Tsikhanouskaya’s husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who had previously announced his intention to stand in the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.
In March, the JEF Society coordinated an “appeal for democracy in Belarus and beyond”, signed by 20 student societies from the Bruges and Natolin campuses.
