Today in Vilnius, a meeting took place between IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary Atle Høie and and Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan with Belarusian trade union leaders – Henadz Fiadynich, longtime head of the Belarusian Radio and Electronics Industry Workers’ Union (REP), which is part of IndustriALL, and Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP).

Yesterday, when new information and footage appeared showing Ukrainian buses, I caught myself experiencing a strange clarity. Perhaps, for the first time since the first similar release of political prisoners, everything seemed to fall into place.

Today, December 13, it was announced that 123 political prisoners were released in Belarus. Among those released are Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, former banker Viktar Babaryka, Maryia Kalesnikava, Maksim Znak, Pavel Seviarynets, TUT.BY editor-in-chief Marina Zolatava, political scientist Alexander Feduta, human rights activist Uladzimir Labkovich, Alena Hnauk, and others.

On December 6, at the Bremen Trade Union House, Salidarnast e.V. held an event as part of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.” Participants included activists from Belarusian independent trade unions and their families, as well as guests from various cities – Bremen, Warsaw, Frankfurt am Main, and Hanover.

A session of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Governing Body concluded its work in Geneva; the GB discussed the situation in Belarus, among other things.

On the Day of Political Prisoners, which is marked annually on October 30, member of the German Bundestag Helge Limburg once again addressed a letter to his political godson – Andrei Paheryla, a repairman at JSC “Grodno Azot” and member of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union, imprisoned in the “Rabochy Rukh” case.

Michelle O’Neil, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), met with the leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, during her visit to Australia. She shared news of the meeting on her Instagram page, describing Tsikhanouskaya as “an inspiring and fearless voice for a free and democratic Belarus.”

Today, Volha Brytsikava, head of the work council of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union of JSK "Naftan" (largest and most important oil refineries in Belarus), is spending her birthday in captivity.

During the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus Nils Muižnieks presented his report on labour rights violations in our country.

Former chairman of the independent Radio and Electronics Industry Workers’ Union (REP), Hennadz Fiadynich, was released from Babruysk Penal Colony No. 2 a month and a half ago. He, along with other political prisoners, was taken to Lithuania. In a conversation with Radio Free Europe, he says that he "still doesn't feel much joy," as he has many concerns.

The Acting President of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) Maksim Pazniakau and Lizaveta Merliak, a representative of the Salidarnast Association e.V., took part in the Congress of the German Mining, Chemical, and Energy Workers’ Union IG BCE which took place in Germany.

After the dissolution of independent trade unions in Belarus, the “Salidarnast” Association became the voice of workers and a platform for the idea of building a democratic society.

Aliaksandr Yarashuk, head of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), shared his experience of being held in Belarusian prisons.

On 17 September, an online meeting was held between recently released former political prisoner and leader of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), Aliaksandr Yarashuk, and ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo together with Maria Helena André, Director of the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV). The meeting was also attended by Sergeyus Glovackas, Desk Officer for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at ACTRAV.