Politzek.me

Politzek.me
FounderCampaign team of Viktar Babaryka
TypeNon-profit organization
PurposeHuman rights in Belarus
Location
Membershipat november 2024 года it is 7 people who work for Politzek.Me працуе, and a number of volunteers.
Key people
co-founder and leader - Ina Kavalionak

Politzek.me — is an advocacy platform designed to assist political prisoners in Belarus, featuring an up-to-date database of political prisoners in the country.[1] It was established in November 2020 following the protests triggered by public rejection of the presidential election results[2] by the campaign team of presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka with informational support from the Human Rights Center Viasna.[3] The organization is led by its co-founder Inna Kavalionak.[4]

Organization Description

The platform was created to make the issue of political prisoners more accessible and to destigmatize them through innovative approaches.[5] The project started as a website containing a database of Belarusian political prisoners and their stories.[6][7] Visitors to the site can find current information about political prisoners, write letters to them, send postcards, make donations, or send parcels to detention centers.[8] Users can also anonymously indicate that they are assisting a particular political prisoner by adding them as a friend on the site. Friendship involves performing specific supportive actions for the chosen political prisoner without direct contact. The number of friends each political prisoner has is displayed on Politzek.Me.[9]

Politzek.Me believes that letters can be a source of encouragement and support for political prisoners, and donations to their families can alleviate financial difficulties faced after their relatives' detention, providing necessary resources to support the imprisoned.[10]

The overall idea of the site is to enable people to act and support those fighting for democracy and human rights in Belarus, as well as to raise international awareness of the situation.[8]

In February 2023, the Politzek.me team launched their online magazine "Politzek Times".[11][12][5] The magazine covers the experiences of Belarusian political prisoners both during their imprisonment and after their release.[13][14]

In November 2023, the project's web pages were recognized as "extremist materials" in Belarus,[15] and in April 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus declared Politzek.Me an extremist group.[16]

Politzek.Me continually updates its list of political prisoners as their number changes daily. As of November 2021, Politzek.Me identified 1074 political prisoners in Belarus;[17] in December 2021 – 1104 prisoners;[18] in May 2022 – 1457 prisoners.[19] The number of political prisoners increased rapidly throughout 2021 and 2022, reaching 1651 by October 2022.[20]

As of July 2024, Politzek.Me identifies 1,570 political prisoners in Belarus.[21]

Politzek.me Partners

References

  1. ^ "Представительница проекта politzek.me: с 2020 года не было ни одной недели, чтобы не увеличивалось число политзаключенных в Беларуси". Lithuanian National Radio and Television (in Russian). 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  2. ^ "Доклад ООН свидетельствует о массовых репрессиях в Беларуси в августе 2020 года". United Nations (in Russian). 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  3. ^ "Штаб Бабарико запустил сайт для дружбы с политзаключёнными" (in Russian). dev.by. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
  4. ^ Tim McNulty (2023-03-19). "Belarus insider lifts lid on life inside Lukashenko's police state". Daily Express. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  5. ^ a b c ""Каждая история политзаключенного достойна быть услышанной". Разговор с Politzek.me о значении проекта". Belarusian Association of Journalists (in Russian). 2023-01-26. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  6. ^ Екатерина Котрикадзе (2021-03-03). "3000 уголовных дел после протестов: в каких условиях оказались политзэки в Беларуси и как им помочь?". TV Rain (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  7. ^ "Politzek.me: Глабальная сітуацыя заўсёды будзе складанай, але ёсць рэчы, якія ў нашых сілах". Polskie Radio (in Belarusian). 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  8. ^ a b Inna Kavalionak, Ala Sivets (2021-06-30). "Friend a Political Prisoner, Join a Revolution". ICNC. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  9. ^ "Политзаключённый — мой друг. Бери и дружи уже сейчас!". politzek.me (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  10. ^ Простые способы помочь политзаключённым РБ. Инструкции на Politzek.me / Новости Беларуси
  11. ^ "Беларусы запустили журнал Politzek Times". Маланка Медиа (in Russian). 2023-02-18. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  12. ^ "Каманда праекта Politzek.me запускае часопіс Politzek Times". Nasha Niva. 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  13. ^ "Home". media.politzek.me (in Russian). Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
  14. ^ ""Пыточная — грязное, вонючее, заблеванное место". Монолог бывшего политзаключенного о своих месяцах в неволе". Zerkalo.io (in Russian). 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  15. ^ "Сітуацыя з правамі чалавека ў Беларусі. Лістапад 2023". Viasna Human Rights Centre (in Belarusian). 2023-12-06.
  16. ^ "Ініцыятыву "politzek.mе" прызналі "экстрэмісцкім фармаваннем": хроніка пераследу 3 красавіка". Viasna Human Rights Centre (in Belarusian). 2024-04-03.
  17. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  18. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  19. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  20. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
  21. ^ "Политзаключённый — мой друг. Бери и дружи уже сейчас!". politzek.me. Retrieved 2024-07-06.
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