Opposition leader Tikhanovskaya appeals to Lukashenko's security forces

The politician called on the leading officials of the Belarusian penitentiary and law enforcement system to think about their future. The corresponding appeal appeared on her official YouTube channel.

"Understand that with any change in the situation, Lukashenko will save only himself. When the time comes to answer, everyone around him will be on their own," she said.

"Oleg Matkin (head of the Department of Execution of Sentences of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus - ed.) will be on his own, and Lukashenko will blame him for the inhumane conditions in which the political prisoners were held. Andrey Shved (Prosecutor General of Belarus - ed.) will be alone, paying for all the charges and sentences. Dmitriy Gora (Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus - ed.) will be alone when all these investigations are rightly called fabricated. Ivan Kubrakov (Belarusian Minister of Internal Affairs - ed.) will be alone, because someone will have to answer for the repeated abuse of power, torture and deaths of ordinary citizens that occurred as a result of them," explained Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

"The changes will still take place, but there will not be enough seats on the plane for everyone," the opposition leader emphasized.

Tikhanovskaya urged the security forces she listed to take care of themselves and "get in touch" with the opposition.

"Only you can help yourselves. Start doing it now. Get in touch with us. Share information. Do it not only for the sake of your future, but also for the sake of remaining human," Tikhanovskaya summarized.

• According to sources, Babaryko was severely beaten on the night of April 25.

• Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was removed by the Lukashenko regime from the 2020 elections at the stage of registration as a presidential candidate, like many other Belarusian oppositionists, is also behind bars. At times, there is no contact with him for several days.

• According to the Belarusian human rights center Viasna, the total number of political prisoners in Belarus is currently over 1,500.