The European Parliament Called On The Lukashenko Regime To Release All Political Prisoners

The lives of many prisoners of conscience are in danger.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Belarusian authorities to release political prisoners. 504 members voted in favor of the resolution, 4 voted against, and 55 abstained.

The European Parliament paid particular attention to Aleksandra Pulinovich, who was convicted in the “Black Nightingales” case, as well as Igor Olinevich, Denis Ivashin, Olga Mayorova, Elena Lazarchik, Alexander Frantskevich, Viktor Snegur, Eduard Babariko, Nikolai Avtukhovich, Vladimir Gundar, Irina Melcher, Stepan Latypov, Václav Oreshko, Pavel Belous, and the Rezanovich family.

The European Parliament stated that they their health is at risk due to inhumane conditions of detention, prolonged isolation, and the denial of adequate medical care.

MEPs condemned the Belarusian authorities’ abuse of anti-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation to criminalize anti-war statements and expressions of solidarity with Ukraine, as well as to suppress peaceful dissent, including among young people.

“The European Parliament calls on the authorities to end all forms of ill-treatment of political prisoners, the practice of holding them in complete isolation, the denial of medical care and access to lawyers and family members, as well as forced labor, as well as to investigate deaths in places of detention and reports of torture,” the statement reads.

The resolution also called for an investigation into deaths in prisons.

Separately, the European Parliament acknowledged the U.S.’s efforts to secure the release of political prisoners, but at the same time emphasized that “the release of prisoners is driven by the regime’s desire to survive economically and is not accompanied by political transformation or reforms that could justify the normalization of relations,” and insists that “the release of all political prisoners and an end to repression remain preconditions for political dialogue and economic cooperation.”

Members of the European Parliament also call on the European Union and international partners to intensify efforts to secure the release of all political prisoners, to strengthen and strictly enforce targeted sanctions against those responsible for the repression, and to support international efforts to hold those responsible for crimes committed by the Lukashenko regime accountable.

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