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Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis sent a letter to the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, thanking her for the request to free a Belarusian human rights activist Ales Beliatski and acquainted her with Lithuania’s efforts to help the civil society in Belarus.

According to the Minister, Lithuania strongly condemns actions taken by the Government of Belarus against A.Beliatski and makes every possible effort to enhance his situation. According to the Minister, each voice calling for help is important when speaking about the prisoners of the regime.

“It is inexcusable that the Belarusian authorities have used the information provided by the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice on the basis of legal agreements as means to persecute the leaders of “Viasna”. This fact only shows that Belarus is brutally abusing legal instruments,” the letter of 10 October reads.

A.Ažubalis also stressed that A.Beliatski case would not prevent Lithuania from making efforts to help Belarus become a democratic country that would respect human rights.

“This year in Vilnius we opened the House of United Belarus, which provides a shelter to those who are persecuted in Belarus, especially after the events of 19 December 2010 in Minsk. Moreover, in June 2011, the Freedom House opened its office here, and other non-governmental organizations working with Belarus are also planning to open their offices in Vilnius,” the letter reads.

Furthermore, according to the Minister, Lithuania will seek to maintain the A.Beliatski case in the spotlight of the international community, and to ban Belarusian officials associated with the persecution of A.Beliatski from entering into the Schengen zone.