#WeStandBYyou: Five years of European solidarity with political prisoners in Belarus

The #WeStandBYyou campaign was started by LIBERECO – Partnership for Human Rights on the 9th of July 2020. This year  is the fifth anniversary of this international solidarity campaign with political prisoners in Belarus. But its roots go back much further, to 2011. At that time, LIBERECO was looking for a way to respond to the wave of arrests following the presidential election in December 2010. Together with the Belarusian Human Rights Centre Viasna, the idea of godparenthoods was born: Members of European parliaments and the European Parliament itself would each “adopt” a political prisoner. In 2011 and the years that followed, just over a dozen people were imprisoned for purely political reasons – today there are over a thousand. This shows that solidarity and support for the people of Belarus are needed more than ever.

Over the past five years, the #WeStandBYyou campaign has evolved from an emergency solidarity initiative into an international advocacy movement involving over 560 politicians from 24 countries (data from 30 September 2025). The demands back then were the same as today: All political prisoners in Belarus must be released immediately and unconditionally.

This report evaluates the development, visibility, and impact of the #WeStandBYyou campaign since its establishment. It investigates the campaign’s growth, shifts in its strategies, changes in public and political engagement, and the broader influence of LIBERECO’s advocacy work. It identifies both weaknesses and successes.

2020 – #WeStandBYyou as emergency response

In this year LIBERECO demonstrated its ability to respond quickly in emergencies, such as the severe political and human rights crisis in Belarus. The initial spark for the launch of the #WeStandBYyou solidarity campaign resulted in hundreds of arbitrary arrests throughout the country during peaceful demonstrations and election campaign rallies in the run-up to the presidential elections on 9th August.

Already in July, more than 20 people were being detained and threatened with long prison sentences for their political activities alone. Among these political prisoners were the independent presidential candidates Wiktar Babaryka and Siarhei Tsikhanouski, as well as members of their election campaign teams, members of the opposition, and bloggers like Ihar Losik, who was released just a few weeks ago. The now 33-year-old was the first political prisoner who was “adopted” as part of the #WeStandBYyou campaign.

At this time, the campaign was focused on it being an emergency situation. As such, the main aim was to gain as much traction as possible on the human rights violations in Belarus, and to build a significant amount of publicity and attention across Europe. Furthermore, this year had early success in gaining the support of high-profile figures such as Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture in Germany from 2021 to 2025. This shows just how effective this campaign is at catching the attention of the political elite, which is crucial for ensuring that advocacy campaigns remain successful.

Attention to the human rights issues accelerated noticeably after the crackdown on peaceful protests following the rigged presidential elections: the detentions skyrocketed the number of political prisoners, but the number of godparents was also rising dramatically. The MPs describe their motivation to join the campaign differently – as a desire “to do something concrete” with the appalling human rights situation or the “solidarity with the people of the neighbouring country”. The German MP Lars Rohwer stated that a godparenthood is “the contribution against forgetting”, because that is what authoritarian regimes want. According to him, the campaign is “an effective way to convey the fundamental values of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights to young people in particular”. Rohwer believes that

“schoolchildren cannot imagine that someone could simply be taken away because they have a different opinion. (..) When I report that I am mentoring someone, it is something concrete. Groups of students who visit me connect with me when I tell them that I am helping someone. Then they can suddenly understand what it is like to live in a dictatorship. And why it is worthwhile and also necessary to defend freedom again and again, even in Germany.”

The symbolic godparents are not only publicly addressing the human rights situation in Belarusian prisons and pointing out the conditions of their godchildren, but they are also organising local events in support of the prisoners, holding committee meetings, taking part in the protests and letter workshops and talking to journalists, embassies and ministries. Gaining the support of one high-profile figure opened the door for the campaign to network and gain the attention of other important figures. This also lent credibility to the campaign and helped LIBERECO to be increasingly seen in a professional light.

2020 was a testament to how well LIBERECO has combined both grassroots mobilisation with elite advocacy to set up a strong foundation for the following years for sustained advocacy efforts. These efforts resulted in gaining over 100 godparents – all organised solely by volunteers whose number varied from year to year, altogether involving around 35. Volunteers who are in close contact with godparents noted that the campaign “has helped to make the impact of the oppressions in Belarus real and specific to the godparents, not just a theoretic “human rights issue“. It has also helped to identify parliamentarians who we can ask to do more within their parliament, because we see that they are active and give time to the campaign.

2021 – building sustainable solidarity

In 2021, LIBERECO continued to build on the work from 2020, amidst the worsening human rights situation in Belarus. Similar to the first year of the campaign, there was a meaningful alignment between grassroots activism and political engagement, signalling strong cross-level support for human rights in Belarus.

Creative, uplifting formats of actions such as the #WeStandBYyou festival of the volunteers involved and the godparents contrasted with the gravity of the cause, helping to maintain supporter morale and campaign momentum to avoid compassion fatigue, where supporters become desensitised by prolonged exposure to negative information. It was a shift toward a more structured, emotionally resonant, and sustainable advocacy campaign, marked by broader public engagement and enhanced operational capacity.

Multiple human rights advocacy techniques were used: First, information politics, using repeated and public-facing actions via social media to raise awareness of state repression in Belarus. Second, symbolic politics was evident through morally charged and highly visible acts, such as vigils and postcard campaigns, which expressed solidarity with political prisoners while simultaneously condemning the Lukashenko regime. These symbolic actions also contributed to the strategy of naming and shaming, drawing international attention to the regime’s human rights abuses.

By doing so, LIBERECO helped inflict reputational costs on the Belarusian government and signalled that its violations were being closely monitored. The political prisoners also felt this support – many of them later recalled that they usually found out about their godparent while they were in pre-trial detention or during a visit by their relatives in the penal colony, whereas in later years the information about the campaign did not always reach the prisoners due to actions of the regime.

All in all, the campaign increased capacity and outreach while shifting from a reactive, emergency-based mobilisation in 2020 to a sustained campaign movement. LIBERECO deepened its collaboration with both Belarusian organisations in exile and political institutions.

A key development in the campaign’s activities was the beginning of direct engagement between political prisoners and their families, facilitated by LIBERECO. Many political prisoners greatly appreciated the communication with them via letters or support for their loved ones such as video calls or small packages:

“Honestly, I was very surprised at first. At first I didn’t believe that people on the outside cared, but when I realized that it wasn’t so and it all went even further, then hope appeared. The administration’s words about how no one needed us and everyone forgot about us – turned into dust. Smiling and agreeing with these statements (because there was no other way) I realized that I had much more significance at such a young age than they had in their entire lives. I began to be proud of myself and decided not to give up. (..) My mother received letters with warm greetings to me. I also received a lot of cool things for personal hygiene and other things I needed. It was damn nice.”

Even though in the last few years of the campaign it has been getting more complicated to arrange direct interactions because of the intimidation of the relatives, one of the the former political prisoners pointed out that even without accurate information about his godfather, the very existence of such an institution, which he knew about, reinforced his faith in justice: 

“The reports on propaganda TV mocking godfathers testified to its importance. It wouldn’t have been important – they wouldn’t have filmed it. That’s how it was read in the “zone”.”

These interactions, which were further facilitated in the subsequent years, transformed a seemingly faraway situation for politicians into a far more personal and emotionally charged experience for the godparents. They intensified their connection and empathy for those who are suffering at the hands of the Belarusian regime, motivating godparents to take more action and deepen their engagement. As noted by one of the LIBERECO members, “the campaign has made the issue of Belarus more tangible in some parliaments and has got parliamentarians practically involved in supporting Belarusians, in a way that one can’t imagine without such a campaign.” At the end of 2021, the number of godparents rose to 261.

2022 – campaign’s evolution into a transnational political effort

Compared to previous years, 2022 saw a diversification in the advocacy techniques used to spread the message of the campaign through deeper engagement with institutional mechanisms such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Swiss parliament and the UK parliament. Having this backing and support from such established institutes not only gives LIBERECO an increased opportunity to spread the message and network with other MPs and MEPs, but it also professionalises the image of the campaign, giving the campaign a higher level of credibility and respect amongst the public.

To achieve this, LIBERECO continued delivering its effective grassroots activities and information politics, using different means of public actions, such as letter campaigns, solidarity football matches, side events at PACE, and petitions for the release of political prisoners that involved godparents.

The involvement of MPs from multiple European countries demonstrated the campaign’s evolution into a transnational political effort, directly opposing Lukashenko’s regime. In January 2022, LIBERECO, in collaboration with 36 other civil society organisations, participated in an open letter addressed to Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. The letter advocated for the release of Natallia Hersche, a dual Swiss-Belarusian citizen and political prisoner. Co-signed by MP Barbara Gysi, godparent of Hersche, the letter urged the Swiss government to take decisive action, calling for economic sanctions on Belarus. In February 2022, Natallia Hersche was released and returned to Switzerland. While it is difficult to establish a direct causal link between her release and these advocacy efforts, the timing and visibility of the campaign led many to view her release as at least a symbolic success.

Even though Russia’s invasion of Ukraine overshadowed the human rights situation in Belarus, the campaign was successful because of the active godparents and volunteers. LIBERECO reached the milestone of 300 godparents.

2023 – strengthening professionalism while preserving grassroots solidarity

In 2023, LIBERECO continued to expand the scope and depth of its advocacy work by embedding regularity, cultural engagement, and political coordination into the core of its campaign activities. Building on the structural and emotional momentum of the previous years, the campaign shifted further toward professionalisation, while maintaining its base in grassroots mobilisation and transnational solidarity. The popularity of the campaign was also boosted by the fact that the leader of the Belarusian democracy movement, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, repeatedly referred to LIBERECO’s godparenthood programme during her numerous meetings with international government representatives.

LIBERECO demonstrated that civic engagement can take accessible and familiar forms, such as a solidarity football match, further broadening the appeal of the campaign. These events also allowed for collective action.

Briefings in the German Bundestag to the newly established Group of Friends for a Democratic Belarus, as well as to all democratic parliamentary groups in the Bundestag helped to build stronger ties with parliamentarians. In a resolution on the human rights situation in Belarus, the German Bundestag praised “the outstanding civil society work” of LIBERECO. The Belarusian authorities in Germany reacted to the campaign by inviting at least one of the godparents to talk, and were even looking for some further contacts. At the end of the year the number of godparents reached 399.

2024 – broadening outreach with multi-channel advocacy

In January 2024, LIBERECO secured its 400th godparenthood: First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf became a godparent for Belarusian political prisoner Dzmitryi Halavacz and was, therefore, the first head of government to join the solidarity campaign. This and the invitation to the EU parliament by eight politicians, representing all of the main political groups, show that LIBERECO was able to consistently employ its advocacy strategy of leveraging connections with high-ranking political stakeholders. Events like these helped to keep the topic of Belarus and of the political prisoners at the forefront of both policymakers’ and the public’s minds, even though some parliamentarians said that they “felt generally relatively powerless” but were interested in “exploring taking other measures apart from adoption”.

In addition to high-level advocacy, LIBERECO continued to use grass-roots mobilisation techniques and a multi-channel advocacy approach. The success of the campaign was acknowledged by the exiled leaders of the Belarusian democratic forces several times. Parallel to the intensification of repression in Belarus as well as against Belarusians in exile, Belarusian state TV started a smear campaign against political prisoners and their supporters, including godparents. This was intended, in particular, to stir up fear among those relatives who were still living in Belarus. Also former political prisoners think that it is currently not safe to try to contact the godparents while they are in Belarus. As a result, security mechanisms were further strengthened and the changing needs of relatives were addressed.

De facto confirmation of LIBERECO’s effectiveness in its many years of continuous work, especially the widespread social media posts within the scope of the #WeStandBYyou campaign was the latest assessment by the Belarusian authorities: They classified LIBERECO’s X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram accounts as “extremist”.

2025 – solidarity under pressure and support that stays

Taking into consideration the recent security issues, the security protocol for godparents was updated to ensure the campaign can be continued as safely as possible for both godparents and relatives of the political prisoners. Also, many former political prisoners reported that “relatives too are in such a psychological state today that they themselves are almost political prisoners. Therefore, they may be afraid to make contact, and this is completely justified.”

At the same time some of the relatives pointed out that any form of help from abroad is highly appreciated, also after release:

“When a loved one is imprisoned, their persecution does not end. Behind the walls of the colonies, a new type of pressure and destruction of a person begins at different levels. Health is undermined, personal humiliation, isolation and lack of socialization and many other things that are aimed at breaking a person.” 

The neverending repressions and recent cases where the regime of Lukashenko pardoned small groups of political prisoners again highlighted the need to help the repressed and their families afterward, as well as the role of the campaign in such support. After his unexpected release in June, the former political prisoner Siarhei Tsikhanouski thanked his godparent, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, for all his “consistent support” in advocating for him and other political prisoners in Belarus. Many godparents, such as Lars Rohwer, are keeping up their support for political prisoners they were responsible for also after the release: “It is important to keep the memory of these atrocities alive.” He is interested in how the Belarusian will fare in the future, now that he is free but unable to enjoy his rights in his home country, and no longer has any career prospects there in his native language. Just as human rights organizations take care of the physical and psychological aftercare of former prisoners, Rohwer clearly considers it important that the former political prisoner succeeds in starting a new life, both professionally and privately, and he asks: What else can be done for him?

In the atmosphere of fear and total lawlessness, every small sign of solidarity is appreciated. The prisoner who served time in the same penal colony as the political prisoner Aliaksandr Trotski contacted the godparent Kassem Taher Saleh to remind him about Aliaksandr’s 50th birthday. The former prisoner mentioned the joke they shared in prison about how he and Aliaksandr will open a bottle of prosecco when they are released. The godparent then responded with a social media post:

“He remembered, he made this gesture — and this gesture can reach Alexander himself, through human rights activists, through the media, through family. And I know for sure that such things mean a lot to people in captivity. Sometimes even more than it seems to us on the outside. I’m telling this story not to emphasize that “it worked,” but to show that reminding works. That people can reach through. That a small letter, a simple story with a human symbol (like that bottle of prosecco) can remind even a busy deputy why he became the “godfather” of a political prisoner. And can give the prisoner a feeling that he is remembered. That he is awaited. That he is not alone. If each of us reminded deputies, journalists, officials, and just acquaintances from time to time about specific people who are now behind bars — that would create an emergent effect. Not a centralized campaign, but living, genuine solidarity. Because, in the end, it’s not the story that frees — it’s the people.”

Extensive political shifts following the elections to the European Parliament (May 2024) and the German Bundestag (February 2025), both parliaments with by far the most godparents, resulted in a significant drop of active godparenthoods and therefore in a slower development of the campaign. Furthermore, the ongoing repressions in Belarus target everyone who tries to help political prisoners demotivate relatives to actively reach out to godparents. These are the reasons why the most important task now is to ensure the safety of the relatives of political prisoners so as not to lose their trust. On the other side, the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus contacted a godparent in at least one case, asking for a meeting, which shows that the regime’s institutions are following the campaign closely and it still has an impact.

During the first half of 2025, LIBERECO presented the #WeStandBYyou campaign in the Latvian and Scottish parliaments, resulting in many new godparenthoods. At the beginning of the second half of the year, the dedication of volunteers and the recent releases of 40 political prisoners again sparked interest from European politicians to become godparents. As long as there will be political prisoners in Belarus, the main tasks for the campaign remain:  to keep Belarus on the international agenda, and to gain support from political stakeholders who can influence the human rights situation both politically and personally.