#WeStandBYyou: New Godparenthood from Constance Le Grip and Svenja Stadler
As part of our #WeStandBYyou campaign, Constance Le Grip (Renaissance, France) and Svenja Stadler (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, Germany) have become godparents to Tatsiana Frantskevich, Natallia Labatsevich, and Yauhen Krasnianski.
As part of our #WeStandBYyou campaign, Constance Le Grip (Renaissance, France) and Svenja Stadler (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, Germany) have become godparents to Tatsiana Frantskevich, Natallia Labatsevich, and Yauhen Krasnianski.
Tatsiana Frantskevich is the mother of political prisoner Aliaksandr Frantskevich. She was charged under Art. 361-1 of the Criminal Code for “participation in an extremist formation”. Her sister Natallia Labatsevich, mother of former political prisoner Illia Labatsevich, was detained with her. The sisters were sentenced to 3 years in a general-security penal colony.
Constance Le Grip is a member of the French National Assembly with the party Renaissance. She reiterates her engagement by taking in the godparenthood for two sisters and expresses her support as followed: “Tatsiana Frantskevich and Natallia Labatsevich, two sisters, were sentenced on 19 July 2024 to three years in prison for allegedly “supporting an extremist formation”, after defending their sons who were already detained. Their cases are emblematic of the systematic repression faced by civil society in Belarus, where even family solidarity is criminalised. They have been prosecuted under broadly defined and abusive provisions of the Belarusian criminal code, solely for having exercised their fundamental rights. They must, in all circumstances, be guaranteed full respect for their fundamental rights, as must all those who are arbitrarily deprived of their liberty. I call for their immediate release and for an end to the instrumentalization of so- called “anti-extremism” legislation used to silence peaceful dissent and intimidate families.”
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Yauhen Krasnianski was sentenced for sociological research on COVID in Belarus. On 8 August 2025, the Minsk City Court found him guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code. The final verdict was reached by combining the punishments under these articles. He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony under Art. 356 of the Criminal Code (“treason to the state”), and to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 rubles (€6,300) under Art. 243-3 (“insurance fraud resulting in large-scale financial loss”).
Svenja Stadler is a long standing member of the German Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany since 2013. It is her first symbolic partnership for a political prisoner in Belarus. She expresses her commitment for a democratic society as follows: “The 43-year-old sociologist was sentenced in Belarus to seven and a half years’ imprisonment in a penal colony, as well as a heavy fine. Solely because he conducted academic research into Covid-19. Freedom of expression, research and critical analysis are cornerstones of any democratic society. The fact that they are being criminalised demonstrates just how repressively the regime in Belarus is cracking down on independent voices. The charges brought against Yauhen Krasniaski, including the serious allegation of “high treason”, are completely disproportionate to his actual work as a scientist. Anyone sentenced to several years’ imprisonment for social science research is not a criminal, but a political prisoner. Through my patronage, I wish to raise awareness of his case and make it clear: we are watching. The international community must not allow people to be silenced for conducting research, voicing criticism or demonstrating their commitment to an open society. Academic work, freedom of expression and the desire for democratic participation must never be criminalised.”