[ad_1]
A woman from St. Gallen participated in the women’s demonstration in Minsk and has been in prison ever since, without any contact with Switzerland. The last call came from the prison bus.
The arrested St. Gallen with dual citizenship at a demonstration in Minsk. Theresienwiese after the attack.
The last message St. Gallen IT businessman Robert Stäheli received from his girlfriend was a video of the prisoner bus. Natalie Herrsche from St. Gallen participated in the large women’s rally in Minks on Saturday. On September 19 at 4:23 pm she wrote from the prisoners’ bus: “I am detained!” The video is oppressive. You can hear the screams of the arrested women typing or saying their latest messages on their smartphones in the dark police bus. Since then, Stäheli has not had direct contact with her friend who lives in St. Gallen and works in the Rhine Valley. The Tübacher only found her on the list of the human rights organization Spring96, which continuously publishes detained women on the Internet .
Contact with brother in Minsk
Stäheli receives information from the arrested man’s brother, a surgeon. She learned from her sister’s public defender where the native Belarusian is being held, who more than ten years ago married a Swiss from the Appenzell region who has since died. According to her brother, the mother of two was found guilty of resisting the police. The sentence is 15 days in prison.
Pierre-Alain Eltschinger of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) confirms the arrest of a citizen with dual Swiss-Belarusian nationality. The Swiss embassy in Minsk is in contact with the local authorities and the family on the spot. “He has been trying for several days to contact the detainee to offer him his support within the framework of consular protection,” says Eltschinger. The FDFA is not authorized to provide further information for personal and data protection reasons. Eltschinger adds that the FDFA is not aware of any other Swiss nationals imprisoned in Belarus.
His partner in St. Gallen could not find out what the conditions of detention are. Until now, the police had treated women with some reluctance, in contrast to massive violence against men. That changed with the large women’s demonstration last Saturday. Her brother is now trying to get the St.
Driven by revolution
The arrested double citizen grew up in the drab prefabricated buildings of Orsha, about 100 kilometers from the capital, Minsk. He studied business administration “or rather planned economics”, as Robert Stäheli puts it. Raised in the narrowness of the dictatorship, Herrsche “greatly moved” the revolution in his native country. For nights he tried to find out the latest from his brother and acquaintances on the cell phone. The girl from St. Gallen could not believe that after Lukashenko’s renewed electoral farce, people now dared to open their mouths and demonstrate. So no one could stop Natalie Herrsche. The joint vacation in Ticino did not work out, Natalie Herrsche changed her plans: “I’m going to Minsk.”
Instead of going to Ticino to Minsk
On September 11, he traveled to Belarus. In Minsk she participated in two or three demonstrations. In the first row, as shown by the images on Swiss television and YouTube, in which the Saint Gallen can be seen prominently. “Of course she knew it was risky to participate in the demonstrations,” says her partner. But anyone who has suffered half their life under such oppression has to be there when a door to freedom opens. Now, however, the prison doors have closed and it cannot be said when St. Gallerin will return to Switzerland. And how he survived the arrest and the Belarusian prison.
The official Swiss application
Switzerland’s position has not changed. Following the controversial presidential elections on August 11, the FDFA expressed concern about the tense situation. “She uses her contacts that she was able to strengthen with the opening of the embassy. Federal Councilor Cassis called the Belarusian Foreign Minister directly, ”says Eltschinger.
The FDFA had also spoken with other representatives of Belarus about human rights violations there. Several times he has unequivocally called on the Belarusian authorities to respect human rights obligations, allow peaceful demonstrations and release detained protesters.
