Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and the U.S. Secretary of State Blinken call for joining forces to fight for the release of political prisoners
On 8 December, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis together with the United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken opened the event 'Voices of Political Prisoners'. Co-hosted by the U.S.A. and Lithuania, the official side event complemented the online Summit for Democracy that was initiated by the U.S. President Joe Biden by highlighting the plight of more than one million political prisoners and underlining the need for increased international collaboration to press for their release.
Landsbergis noted in his speech that there was only one way to preserve and foster democracy – to take sides with the oppressed around the world. According to Landsbergis, we must all take responsibility and carry the torch of democracy and freedom for political prisoners until they are released and join our fight for these ideals.
According to Secretary Blinken, in order to use all possible means for the release of political prisoners, the U.S. is working closely with its partner countries, such as Lithuania, which is a leader in defending the human rights of political prisoners and democracy.
Former political prisoners and family members of those imprisoned, including a sister of the Belarusian opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, also spoke at the event and shared personal stories about the fate of those imprisoned solely for their ethnicity, religion or the peaceful exercise of their human rights.
On 19 and 20 November in Vilnius, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry held a high-level forum 'Future of Democracy' that helped to prepare for the Summit for Democracy.
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