In Vilnius, journalists will symbolically try to free their colleagues imprisoned by the dictator

On May 3, at 10:00 a.m., a group of journalists persecuted by the Belarusian regime and who found refuge in the capital of Lithuania, supported by their colleagues from Lithuania, will meet for a joint solidarity action at the former Lukiški prison and inside it, reminding that journalistic activities are not a crime and that journalists cannot be tortured for this in any in the country.

Freedom of the press, which is usually guaranteed in democratic countries, is a value that is absolutely hard to imagine and attain in non-democratic countries. As Andrej Bastunets, head of the Vilnius-based Association of Belarusian Journalists (this organization defends independent journalists and is therefore recognized as extremist by the Lukashenko regime), “Belarusians have been dreaming about freedom of the press for 30 years, but in reality they have only seen a three-decade war against journalists.”

This year, 35 media representatives will be behind bars on World Press Freedom Day in Belarus. And that’s not all, because many journalists experience other forms of persecution, repression or terror. Journalists in Vilnius will try to say in solidarity that the world cannot forget about the Belarusian regime and the people persecuted by it. Journalists say that we must not stop supporting colleagues and demand the release of political prisoners.

A similar campaign took place in Vilnius last year, and later moved to other European countries.