Svetlana Tichanovskaya leads the Belarusian protest movement.
Her husband has been in prison in Belarus since May 2020. They stood in for him as a presidential candidate against Lukashenko, although they never wanted to be a politician. After your victory, you and your two children had to go into exile in Lithuania, from where you lead the democracy movement. How do you cope with this permanent exceptional situation?
SWETLANA TICHANOWSKAJA: A normal family life is impossible without my husband. I try to be a good mother to my children. Times are really tough, but I know my responsibility. I have a lot to deal with. But there are millions of citizens behind me who want the same thing as me: the release of all political prisoners and new elections in Belarus. My life is a struggle but I have no choice; I have to do what is to be done.
Do you have contact with your husband?
In Belarus, political prisoners have no way of communicating directly with their relatives. That goes through lawyers. We can write letters, and so do my children.
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