Event at the Embassy - Imprisoned Without Just Cause: #FreeThemAll
On March 27th, at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, Freedom House organized an in-person panel discussion and reception dedicated to raising awareness of the staggering rate of political imprisonment worldwide. As the side event of the Summit for Democracy it featured remarks from democratic government officials actively seeking the release of political prisoners worldwide and a panel discussion of prominent democratic activists who themselves were once unjustly detained or whose loved ones are currently behind bars.
Ambassador Audra Plepytė greeted those gathered and introduced the distinguished speakers. Among those were Vice-Minister Mantas Adomėnas, Lithuania Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Under Secretary Uzra Zeya, U.S. Department of State; Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Executive Vice President, Freedom House; Leopoldo López, Freedom Fighter and Co-Founder of the World Liberty Congress; Pastor Evan Mawarire, Director of Education, Renew Democracy Initiative; Evgenia Kara-Murza, Advocacy Coordinator at the Free Russia Foundation and Monovithya Kem, Director-General of Public Affairs for Cambodia’s Exiled Opposition.
Keynote address was given by Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic movement.
