Unfortunately, she said this story was not the only one like it. Since the beginning of their revolution in 2020, some 60 000 people had gone through detentions. Many had been tortured, beaten and even raped. In April alone, 11 people had been detained daily. Belarus had become a place of lawlessness and terror. Last month (April 2023), one of Mr Lukashenko's main rivals, political prisoner Mr Viktor Barbarika, was in hospital in a serious condition. He had been beaten so much that it was hard to recognise him. Despite appeals from human rights defenders, the regime had refused to give access to him. They did not even know if he was still alive. Since 10 March, she said she did not heard from her husband, Mr Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was sentenced to 19 years. Their children had not seen him in three years. She imagined that he was in a cell; she did not even want to think about something worse. Political prisoners were hostages, and they had to speak about them every single day and support their families. They had to give them hope, give them energy. They had to know that they were not abandoned. Ms Tsikhanouskaya was eternally grateful to Mr Tiny KOX and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for paying so much attention to the situation with political prisoners in Belarus. She said that every statement, every Resolution, every word mattered. She said that they were not only fighting against Mr Lukashenko's tyranny, but also Russia's occupation of Belarus. Like the brave Ukrainians, they were fighting for their freedom. Yesterday, she attended the Charlemagne Prize ceremony in Aachen. She was very happy that the prize this year was awarded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine. Last year, she had the honour of accepting the same prize on behalf of all Belarusians who wanted to live in peace and freedom. The fight between tyranny and democracy, between the past and the future, united them, she said. Ukrainians and Belarusians had made a clear choice for freedom. There was no question that they had to win. If they lost, darkness would once again fall across Europe. The opposition to the war and Mr Lukashenko's regime in Belarus had gone underground. Big public rallies were no longer being held due to the level of repression, but over 200 000 Belarusians had joined their victory, the Pieramoha Plan, made to co-ordinate covert resistance. In 2022 alone, she said that there were over 80 acts of sabotage on the railways. One recent successful sabotage was a drone attack in February which targeted a vital Russian surveillance plane. Many Belarusians also assisted Ukrainian intelligence and continued to monitor the movement of Russian troops within Belarus. The Belarusians’ stance was clear. They opposed the war. They stood with Ukraine. It was crucial, she said, to distinguish between the regime and Belarusian people. The regime had become an accomplice to Mr Vladimir Putin in this war. After the war had started, many countries wrongly imposed visa bans on all Belarusians. Visas were not a luxury, but a necessity. For example, the woman who Ms Tsikhanouskaya mentioned at the beginning of her speech could only call her because she had been able to leave Belarus in time, as the KGB came banging down her door. Treating Belarus and Russia differently was equally important, since Belarusians did not want to be lumped together with Russians. They chose democracy and the rule of law in 2020, and they paid a big price for it. They were against Russia's bloody war and, she repeated, they supported Ukraine. Being present in the room meant that this was understood. Ms Tsikhanouskaya said they wanted Belarus back in the Council of Europe, and that it should no longer be a black hole when looking at the map of the Council of Europe; they were Europeans, and they wanted a democratic Belarus to take its place in the European family of free nations. For her, the interest in joining the Council of Europe was about securing a future where every Belarusian could live freely, speak openly and participate actively in the political life of their nation. It was not merely about international recognition. It was about transforming their society and establishing a true democracy where the rule of law prevailed and human rights were respected. Ms Tsikhanouskaya envisioned a Belarus with the principles upheld by the Council of Europe, not as distant ideals, but everyday realities. They were ready to work with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and to draw on their expertise as they prepared reforms for future democratic Belarus. It would help

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