The “Students Solidarity Alliance Belarus” and “Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights” have handed in their petition to Belarusian university directors at the Belarusian Embassy in Berlin. The petition counts more than 9,700 signatures.

Solidarity action in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Berlin

The situation of many students and politically engaged young people in Belarus is highly dangerous. Due to the leading role they play in peaceful protests, they are subject to particularly harsh repression by the state. Since the protests in response to the rigged presidential elections in August 2020, 442 students have been detained while 136 students have been exmatriculated from their universities. “We as students in Germany and Switzerland declare our solidarity with the persecuted students in Belarus. We admire their courage to stand up against the dictatorial regime and to defend not only their freedom of teaching but also their right to freedom of expression and assembly. We demand an immediate end to the repression against students in Belarus”, stated Zoe Schreiber, member of the Students Solidarity Alliance Belarus.

Yesterday the Students Solidarity Alliance Belarus and the human rights organisation Libereco handed over their international petition to the Belarusian university directors. More than 9,700 signatories have supported the petition launched by the mentioned organisations. They urge all Belarusian university directors to oppose the regime and to stand in solidarity with their students. In addition, the directors should personally call the Minister of Education to ensure that scholarships are not revoked to students who take part in protests or are being held in prison. With these demands, the Students Solidarity Alliance Belarus and Libereco join a statement launched by Belarusian student organisations.

“The number of signatures shows how strong the solidarity with Belarusian students and their resistance to Lukashenka’s criminal regime is. University directors must no longer give hand to the human rights violations in Belarus as stooges of the regime. They must work to ensure that their students are free to express their opinions without being persecuted and punished”, stated Lars Bünger, President of Libereco Switzerland.

The handover of the petition was accompanied by letters to the university directors and the Ministries of Education in Belarus, Switzerland and Germany. In addition, the two organisations showed their solidarity with Belarusian students by taking pictures with the demands of the petition in front of the Belarusian embassy in Berlin

Pictures of the handover in front of the Belarusian embassy can be downloaded here, the petition can be found here.