#WeStandBYyou: New Godparenthoods by Lars Rohwer, Anton Hofreiter and Holger Mann

As part of our #WeStandBYyou campaign, Lars Rohwer (Christlich Demokratische Union), Anton Hofreiter (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Holger Mann (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) have become godparents to Aleh Loika, Artsiom Sakau and Dzianis Ivashyn.

Aleh Loika was a pastor who helped people recover from drug addiction. He was arrested and charged with disseminating operational information belonging to the Russian military (Article 361-4). In August 2025, he was consequently sentenced to three and a half years in prison by Judge Siarhei Sakalouski. His health deteriorated significantly during his time in prison and is now critical.

Lars Rohwer is a member of the German Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union. This is his third godparenthood for a political prisoner in Belarus. He expresses his commitment as follows: ‘The imprisonment of a Protestant pastor demonstrates the Belarusian regime’s ongoing disregard for fundamental human rights. The political persecution of a clergyman tramples on fundamental Christian values. I demand his immediate release!”

Artsiom Sakau was a member of presidential candidate Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya’s campaign team. In May 2020, he was arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison as part of the six-month-long “Tsikhanouskaya case” under Articles 130, 191, 293, and 342. Sakau was accused of organizing mass protests in Belarus prior to the 2020 presidential election.

Anton Hofreiter has been a member of the German Bundestag for Alliance 90/The Greens since 2005, serving as Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs since 2021. With his second godparenthood as part of our campaign, he reaffirms his commitment to political prisoners in Belarus. He expresses his solidarity as follows: “Artsiom Sakau is serving a 16-year sentence in a high-security prison for helping organize an opposition campaign rally. His fate illustrates the brutal manner in which the Belarusian regime suppresses individuals who advocate for democracy, the rule of law, and fair and free elections. I call for the immediate release of Artsiom Sakau and all other political prisoners in Belarus.”

Dzianis Ivashyn worked as an investigative journalist, researching Russian influence in Belarus and former Ukrainian Berkut units that had been integrated into the Belarusian security apparatus. He was arrested on 12 March 2021 by the Belarusian secret service, the KGB, and was initially charged under Article 365 of the Belarusian Criminal Code (‘interference in the activities of a police officer’). The charge was later expanded to include Article 356 (‘high treason’). In September 2022, he was sentenced to 13 years and one month in prison. During his detention, he was repeatedly placed in solitary confinement, his contact with his family was severely restricted, and his health was significantly impaired.

Holger Mann has been a Member of the German Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany since 2021. He expresses his commitment to democracy and freedom of expression in Belarus as follows: “As an investigative journalist, Dzianis Ivashyn has dedicated himself to exposing and addressing political and social abuses in Belarus. In his journalistic work on the investigative platform informnapalm.org and the newspaper Novy Chas, Ivashyn has consistently championed the preservation of his country’s democratic values. I condemn Dzianis Ivashyn’s detention in the strongest possible terms. This is aimed solely at silencing investigative journalism in Belarus. Through my godparenthood, I am committed to ensuring that he and his fellow prisoners receive justice. For the conditions under which opposition activists such as Ivashyn are being held are unacceptable. My full solidarity and support go out to him and all the other people who, because of their commitment to democracy, are suffering repression and persecution at the hands of Lukashenko’s regime. Our government must work together with our European partners to continue exerting pressure on the Belarusian government so that all those detained for political reasons are released.”