German MP Strasser has taken patronage of Otroshchenkov.

Christoph Strasser, a deputy of the German Bundestag and the coordinator of the Working Group on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group in the German Parliament, has spoken about his patronage of political prisoner Aleksandr Otroshchenkov.

The human rights organization “Libereco”, whose headquarters are in Bonn, initiated the campaign “Patronage of political prisoners”.

The aim of the campaign “Libereco” is that every political prisoner in Belarus and his family should receive moral and political support from German Parliament members.

As he stressed in his statement, the German Social Democrat Christoph Strasser has “deep respect for Aleksandr Otroshchenkov, the Press Secretary of the opposition presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov.”

According to him, “Aleksandr could not be unaware of the danger which lurks in the opposition to Belarusian ruler Lukashenko…The price of his courage was very high – prison, torture and other treatment which is degrading. However, political developments in North Africa and the Middle East should encourage the democratic forces in Belarus. At the same time they (the forces) need the political and moral support of Europeans.

As the coordinator of our faction on questions of human rights, and as a lawyer, I will do everything on my part for Aleksandr Otroshchenkov, and also for many other critics of the regime and for human rights defenders in Belarus,” said Christoph Strasser.

Earlier last week the Bundestag deputy from the Green faction, the coordinator on Eastern Europe questions, Marieluise Beck, took patronage of the presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov.. Also Marek Migalski, a deputy of the European Parliament from Poland and representative of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Belarus, declared his patronage of the political prisoner, Dmitrii Bondarenko.