#WeStandBYyou: 6 New Godparents from Germany
Robin Wagener, Marvi Parsa, Claudia Müller, Jens Peick, Frauke Heiligenstadt, and Carolin Wagner are taking on godparenthood for political prisoners in Belarus.
As part of our #WeStandBYyou campaign, Robin Wagener (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Parsa Marvi (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands), Claudia Müller (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Jens Peick (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands), Frauke Heiligenstadt (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands), and Carolin Wagner (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) have become godparents to Viktoryia Kulsha, Aliaksandr Shabalin, Viyaleta Viarbitskaya, Iryna Saurytskaya, Zmitser Shalak, Iryna Kishkurna, and Hanna Papai.
Viktoryia Kulsha is a trained lawyer. Before her arrest in November 2020, she worked in occupational safety and was the administrator of the Telegram channel ‘Motorists 97%’ (Kiroucy 97%). The initial charge was for ‘calling for the endangerment of national security’ (Art. 361), but this was later changed to ‘organising and preparing actions against public order’ (Art. 342). Kulsha was finally sentenced to two and a half years in prison on the 4th of June 2021, which has already been extended three times by one year each for ‘bad behaviour’. Before the end of her sentence, she was charged again, this time for ‘disobedience’, and sentenced to another year in prison in June 2025. She has now already spent around five years in Belarusian prisons under appalling conditions. Kulsha, who has already suffered two heart attacks and taken on several hunger strikes while in custody, continues to be subjected to threats, humiliation and beatings by the Belarusian prison officers.
Robin Wagener, Member of the German Parliament for the party Bündnis-90/Die Grünen, has already taken on several godparenthoods – this time he will be Kulsha’s godparent. He strongly criticises the human rights situation in Belarus and reaffirms Viktoryia’s courage: “I demand the immediate release of Viktoryia Kulsha. She has been innocently imprisoned in Belarusian jails for over five years. She has been subjected to brutal torture, her prison sentence has been arbitrarily extended several times, and she has been on hunger strike. In 2020, Viktoryia had the courage to organise protests against the rigged presidential elections in Belarus. She had the courage to campaign for an end to Lukashenko’s dictatorship. Freedom of expression is not a crime, but a human right. The Belarusian regime has robbed her of her freedom. Viktoryia is one of over 1,000 political prisoners in Belarus. They must all be released immediately.”
Aliaksandr Shabalin is the father of four minor children. Before his imprisonment by the Lukashenko Regime he worked as a taxi driver and supported presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Gomel in the spring of 2020 as part of her nomination group. He was subsequently arrested on the 7th of June 2020, charged with ‘organising mass unrest’ (Article 293 of the Belarusian Criminal Code) and ‘squatting’ (Article 292), and finally sentenced to six years of imprisonment in Penal Colony 17.
Parsa Marvi, Member of the German Parliament for the the party Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, has become a godparent of the political prisoner Aliaksandr Shabalin. The MP had this to say about his participation in #WeStandBYyou: “Aliaksandr Shabalin is in prison because he courageously stood up for the democracy in Belarus. He worked on Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s election campaign committee and collected signatures – for which he was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison for allegedly “organising mass unrest” and “squatting”. Aliaksandr is the father of four children who now have to cope without their father. By taking on this sponsorship, I want to show Aliaksandr that he is not alone. His courage deserves recognition; his imprisonment is unjust. We must not look away when people are punished for their commitment to freedom and democracy. I call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus, especially Aliaksandr Shabalin, and appeal to the international community not to abandon him and his family.”
24-year-old Viyaleta Viarbitskaya was arrested on February 22, 2024 and charged with inciting hatred (Article 130 of the Belarusian Criminal Code). On November 21, 2024, she was sentenced to 5 years in a penal colony in Gomel, after judge Mikhail Makarevich heard her case from November 13 to November 21, 2024. She was further included in the list of persons involved in terrorist activities as well as in the list of Belarusian citizens, foreign nationals, and stateless individuals involved in extremist activities. Therefore, she is not allowed to receive any funds for the duration of her prison sentence. On March 7, 2025, her 59-year-old mother, Iryna Saurytskaya, was also included in the list of Belarusian citizens, foreign nationals, and stateless individuals involved in extremist activities. Iryna was arrested on February 22, 2024 together with her daughter Viyaleta. Her case was heard by judge Mikhail Makarevich from November 13 to November 21, 2024, after which she was sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment in the same penal colony as her daughter. The case opened against her was equally based on Article 130 of the Belarusian Criminal Code – Incitement to hatred. Her husband and father of Viyaleta, Henadz Saurytskim, received his sentence on the same day.
Claudia Müller is a member of the German Parliament for the party Bündnis-90/Die Grünen. Her position towards the human rights violations in Belarus is clear: “I demand the immediate release of Viyaleta Viarbitskaya and her mother Iryna Saurytskaya! Just as Viyaleta’s father Henadz, both women were sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment on the grounds of “inciting hatred.” Their so-called crime: Recording a video in summer of 2020 in which they called for the violence to stop. Their sentence demonstrates just how evil the regime in Belarus is. People are being incarcerated for being in favour of free elections and freedom of expression. I am therefore calling on the dictator Aljaksandr Lukaschenko to finally resign, to release all political prisoners, and thus to make way for democracy in Belarus.”
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Zmitser Shalak was arrested on December 8, 2023 and sentenced by judge Tatsiana Khrypach to 3.5 years’ imprisonment, after judge Vital Lapko of the court in Novopolotsk heard his case on August 1 and 7, 2024. His conviction was justified with him having insulted the president of the Republic Belarus and a government official (Articles 368 and 369 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, respectively). The sentence also includes a penalty in the amount of 8,000 Belarusian Rubles. Zmitser is currently serving his sentence in the penal colony no 22 in Ivatsevichy.
Jens Peick is a member of the German Parliament for the party Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands. As a unionist, politician, and artist (he’s playing the guitar in a blues-rock band) his position is clear: “Peacefully demonstrating, civil society involvement, and merely expressing your opinion freely will put you at risk of incarceration. This is exactly what happened to Zmitser Shalak, the drummer of the band Paranoia Dolls. I myself am a guitar player and thus I know how closely music, culture, and art are connected to the freedom of expression. Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that artists receive particularly harsh sentences for the regime aims to suppress free thinking and to weaken social coherence. When musicians and artists are imprisoned, art becomes resistance and artists will be political prisoners. I am therefore calling on the Belarusian government to release Zmitser Shalak and all other political prisoners.”
Iryna Kishkurna is 63-year-old and looking back at a long career as a librarian. When she was arrested on October 31, 2024, however, she had already switched career paths and was employed with the Minsk City Executive Committee at their municipal utilities system. The reason given for her arrest was her alleged involvement in a so-called “neighbourhood community chat”. On August 20, 2025, she was sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment for creating an extremist formation or participating in such formation (Article 361-1 of the Belarusian Criminal Code). Since then, according to her, friends and family members have turned their backs on her as her health keeps deteriorating due to the harsh conditions in prison.
Frauke Heiligenstadt previously held the office of Minister of Culture of the German state of Lower Saxony. Since 2021, she has been serving as member of the German Parliament for the party Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands. She has become godparent for Iryna Kishkurna, stating: “As member of the German parliament I have become a godparent for Iryna Kishkurna who is currently being held as a political prisoner in Belarus. I demand her immediate release and access to both legal and medical assistance. With #WeStandBYyou I am standing in solidarity with all those who have been unjustly incarcerated.”
Hanna Papai is 45 years old and mother of two children. She worked as a bank employee before she was arrested on November 9, 2024. She was sentenced to 2.5 years’ imprisonment for organizing and preparing actions that grossly violate public order or actively participating in such actions (Article 342 of the Belarusian Criminal Code), calling for actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of the Republic of Belarus (Article 361 of the Belarusian Criminal Code), and inciting hatred (Article 130 of the Belarusian Criminal Code). She was also included in the list of persons involved in terrorist activities and on June 13, 2025, she was further included in the list of Belarusian citizens, foreign citizens, and stateless persons involved in extremist activities. She is therefore banned from receiving any funds for the duration of her sentence. She is currently serving her sentence in the penal colony no. 4 in Gomel.
Carolin Wagner is a member of the German Parliament for the party Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands. In addition, she is actively involved in the activities of the working group of social democratic women. Her reasons to become a godparent: “Incarceration, repression, and torture. No free reporting and hardly any messages getting through to the families of prisoners. Belarus, a country that was living the dream of freedom five years ago, today bears the mark of fear and depression. However, Belarus is also home to courageous citizens who – despite the significant threats to human rights, freedom, and democracy – are not afraid to speak up, people like Hanna Papai: A young, courageous woman who used to work as a bank employee before her arrest on November 9, 2024 – and who, like me, is mother of two children. With online donations and commentaries, she was fighting for her fundamental rights. Her illegal arrest, the harsh sentence of 2 years and 6 months as well as her being classified as an “extremist” are clear human rights violations. By becoming her godparent, I am standing in solidarity with Hanna Papai. Belarus must guarantee the release of this courageous woman and everybody else who has been unjustly incarcerated! My thoughts are with Hanna Papai, her relatives, and many others who are suffering under the oppressive regime in Belarus.”