Boris Johnson stood shoulder to shoulder with Belarus’ exiled opposition leader as she called on the Government to ramp up sanctions on the Eastern European state.
The Prime Minister welcomed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at Number 10 today and told her the UK is “on your side”.
Ahead of the meeting, Ms Tsikhanouskaya told the BBC “no one in Belarus can feel safe”, as President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime has intensified.
The Belarusian government has faced criticism recently following the treatment of Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, and the death of activist Vitaly Shishov in Ukraine on Tuesday.
Ms Tsikhanouskaya said she understood she could “disappear at any moment”, but added if this happened, the “movement” she had started “will continue without me”.
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Mr Johnson reassured the exiled leader and said: “We are very much on your side, very much in support of what you are doing.
“We are committed to supporting human rights and civil society in Belarus.”
He added: “We strongly support you, strongly support Belarus, the Belarusian people and I think we were among the first to put in sanctions after the hijacking of Roman Protasevich, the flight that was diverted.”
Athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya was forced to seek refuge at the Olympics in Japan after Belarusian officials tried to make her board a flight home against her will after she criticised her coaches on social media.
She has been granted a visa in Poland and her husband has fled Belarus for Ukraine.
Shishov, the leader of the Kyiv-based Belarusian House in Ukraine was found hanged in one of the city’s parks not far from his home, police said in a statement.
A murder probe has been launched, with police believing that the death was made to look like suicide.
Belarus held elections on August 9 last year, in which Mr Lukashenko was declared the victor.
The result was followed by huge street protests and claims by opponents of the regime and Western governments that the elections were rigged.
Ms Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania after the election in fear for her own safety.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister welcomed the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, to Downing Street today.
He condemned the Lukashenko regime’s severe human rights violations and persecution of pro-democracy figures, including both Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her husband.
The Prime Minister outlined the steps the UK has taken to hold the regime to account, including placing sanctions on Lukashenko himself.
He stressed the UK’s commitment to the Belarusian people, in particular through tripling our financial support to Belarusian civil society this year.”
