Protection and asylum for human rights defender Olga Karach

#protection4Olga

(23.09.2023) Following the denial of political asylum by the Lithuanian authorities for the Belarusian peacebuilder and human rights defender Olga Karach (Volha Karach), the international campaign #protection4olga has just been launched to demand protection and asylum for the director of the organisation ‘Our House‘. She has been fighting for human rights in Belarus for years, including the right to conscientious objection to military service, and is therefore persecuted and faces capital punishment in her country of origin, where she has been labelled a ‘terrorist’ by the regime.

On 18 August 2023, Lithuania denied her political asylum, calling Olga Karach a ‘person who represents a threat to the national security of the Republic of Lithuania’. She was however granted a one-year temporary residence in the country, probably due to international letters of concerns that some politicians and heads of foundations had written to the authorities and to Lithuanian Ambassadors in different countries. But this status does not give her any safety regarding her status – authorities could at any time renege this decision and decide to deport her. (...more)

With this form you can send a protest eMail to Lithuanian authorities.

 Data will be encoded by SSL 

 Personal Information 

First and family name*

Street/POB*

Country, Zip code and Town* Germany Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Ethiopia Finland France Georgia Greece Hungary India Iraq Ireland Island Israel Italy Japan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Macedonia Mexico Montenegro Netherlands New Zealand Norway Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation San Marino Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain South Africa South Korea Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Other

Phone

Fax

eMail*

* Mandatory fields - Privacy Policy

 eMail 

Send an eMail to Lithuanian authorities (You can change and add)

Proposal for your letter: Dear President, dear Prime Minister, dear Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am writing to you because I am concerned about the safety and security of Ms Olga Karach, a human rights defender from Belarus who has sought refuge in your country. Recently, on the 18th of August, the Lithuanian Immigration Authorities rejected her application for political asylum. Ms Olga Karach is part of the Belarusian opposition and had to leave her home country in 2020 after the protests against the rigged presidential elections. Her organization Musu namai is registered in Lithuania since several years. Olga Karach and her organization are fighting for human and civil rights in Belarus and against a possible direct participation of Belarus in the war in Ukraine. For that, they repeatedly have been threatened by the Lukashenko regime. The Belarusian KGB labelled her as a terrorist, and recently there have been death threats against her. If she returned to Belarus, she would face immediate arrest and conviction to many years of prison; even imposition of the death penalty cannot be ruled out. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted in 1998 refers to "individuals, groups and associations ... who contribute ... to the effective elimination of all violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples and individuals". States have an obligation to protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens, and, human rights defenders, as stated in UN General Assembly resolution 66/164, are exposed to grave risks through threats, attacks and intimidation that often endanger their very lives. We express our deep concern that national security and counter-terrorism measures are often misused to target human rights defenders or hinder their work and compromise their security in a manner contrary to international law, as stated in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6 of 2013 on the defence of human rights defenders, which commits all states to protect and not criminalise those who work to defend human rights. Therefore, the situation is life threatening for her, and we ask you to extend your support to Ms Karach and to allow her to stay and continue her work for human rights and peace in Lithuania under the secure status of being granted political asylum. Yours sincerely

 eMail News 

I/We subscribe to the eMail News of Connection e.V. (In German only) (Please fill in your eMail address in the above field "eMail")

I/We oppose to receive any eMail or information further on.

I/we took note of the Data protection. 

Please enter the security code: