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From January 16 to February 16, the art installation dedicated to political prisoners — members of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” will be exhibited in the center of Riga.
It is dedicated to the human rights defenders from the center “Viasna” (in Belarusian, “Spring”), who were punished for helping people defend their rights and dignity:
— the head of the organization and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales’ Bialiatski, sentenced to 10 years in prison;
— Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights Valentin Stefanovich, sentenced to 9 years in prison;
— Coordinator of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections" Vladimir Labkovich, sentenced to 7 years in prison;
— Coordinator of the Volunteer Service, Marfa Rabkova, sentenced to 14 years and 9 months in prison;
— the volunteer Andrei Chapyuk, sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in prison.
The art installation in Riga will be shown at a significant time: at the end of January, another pseudo-election will be held in Belarus. For people in Belarus, this “event” embodies the lack of freedom and inability to speak up. It will be held virtually without alternative candidates in an atmosphere of fear and oppression. Currently, hundreds of political prisoners are behind bars, including human rights activists from “Viasna” who have always fought for people's rights and opposed injustice.
On January 16 at 11:00 a.m., the grand opening of the art installation “Unbreakable" will take place at Latviesu strelnieku laukums, dedicated to human rights defenders who are behind bars in Belarus for their peaceful work to help people. The installation will be opened by honorary guest, Vice Mayor of Riga Linda Ozola, and representatives from the Parliamentary Support Group for Democratic Belarus, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Human Rights Center "Viasna.
The art installation "Unbreakable" was created as part of the campaign of solidarity with the political prisoners from the human rights center “Viasna” #FreeViasna. The exibition in Riga was made possible thanks to the help of the association of Belarusians in Latvia "Supolka". The project has already been presented in Brussels (Belgium), Copenhagen (Denmark), Berlin (Germany), Poznan (Poland) and Vilnius (Lithuania).
The Association of Belarusians in Latvia "Supolka" was founded in 2020 by Belarusians living in Latvia and unites both representatives of the historical minority and recent political refugees and emigrants from Belarus.