The human rights organisation Libereco is calling for Christmas and New Year greetings for Natallia Hersche, who is imprisoned in Belarus. The Swiss-Belarusian dual citizen from St. Gallen was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on 7 December and is one of the currently 158 political prisoners in Belarus.

Natallia Herrsche in the court in Minsk. (Photo: Viasna)

Libereco is calling for Christmas and New Year greetings to be sent to Natallia Hersche in Belarusian prison as part of the #WeStandBYyou campaign. “We are very pleased that the Swiss Ambassador in Minsk was able to visit Natallia on Monday this week and hand her a personal letter from President Sommaruga. This sign of solidarity from the Federal Council is very important. We invite all Swiss citizens to join this gesture and send Natallia postcards in prison. Through this sign of solidarity we can encourage Natallia and show her that we stand by her and all other political prisoners in Belarus in their struggle for democracy and freedom,” said Lars Bünger, President of Libereco.

Natallia Hersche was arbitrarily arrested on 19 September at a peaceful women’s rally in Minsk. During her violent arrest, she had pulled the mask off the face of a security guard in fear of her life. The guard was not marked as such. Natallia scratched him in the process. Because of this, she was sentenced to a draconian 2.5 years in prison in an unfair trial.

How your postcard reaches Natallia Hersche

The postcards must be written in Russian or Belarussian, otherwise they won’t be delivered. If you don’t know Russian or Belarusian, translation sites like Google Translate or DeepL can help. These templates can also be used:

Russian: Я пишу вам, чтобы вы знали, что о вас не забывают, о вас помнят. Люди во всем мире смотрят на Беларусь, внимательно следят за событиями в Беларуси и переживают за белорусов, за всех вас. Держитесь, сил вам и мужества! Надеюсь, что очень скоро наступят лучшие времена!

Belarussian: Пішу вам з тым каб вы ведалі, што пра вас не забываюцца, пра вас памятаюць. Людзі ўсяго свету глядзяць на Беларусь, уважліва сочаць за падзеямі ў краіне і перажываюць за беларусаў. Трымайцеся, сіл вам і моцы. Спадзяюся, што вельмі хутка прыйдуць лепшыя часы!

Translation I write you to let you know that you are not forgotten. People all over the world are looking at Belarus, following what is happening there and caring about people like you. Please keep strong, I am hoping that better times will soon arrive!

The current prison address of Natallia Hersche is:
Наталья Херше
ИК №4
ул. Антошкина, 3
246035, г. Гомель
REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

Sending a postcard or a letter to Belarus costs CHF 1.50. Libereco has also launched a postcard campaign for all political prisoners in Belarus.