English

Polish foreign minister meets with Sannikaw and Khalip

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw on Wednesday met with former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrey Sannikaw and his wife, journalist Iryna Khalip.

During the meeting, Mr. Sannikaw called on the West to be involved in the fight for the release of the political prisoners in Belarus, according to the Polish foreign ministry. Mr. Sikorski assured his guests that Poland would push for the democratization of Belarus and expressed confidence that the recently established European Foundation for Democracy would be an efficient tool for supporting Belarus' civil society, the ministry said.

In the summer of 2012, Mr. Sannikaw was granted political asylum in Britain. Ms. Khalip has recently been allowed by probation authorities to travel abroad to meet with him.

Mr. Sannikaw, a former deputy foreign minister, and his wife were among prominent opponents of Alyaksandr Lukashenka who were arrested in the wake of a post-election protest staged in Minsk on the night of December 19, 2010 and subsequently convicted in a so-called riot case. Mr. Sannikaw was sentenced to five years in prison, while Ms. Khalip was given a suspended two-year prison term.

Mr. Sannikaw was released from prison on April 14, 2012, after being pardoned by Mr. Lukashenka. After being granted political asylum in Britain, he explained that he had fled Belarus because of the threat of being rearrested. //BelaPAN