European Parliament Calls For The Release Of All Belarusian Political Prisoners
- 21.05.2025, 14:08
Lukashenka must be brought to justice.
David McAllister, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Małgorzata Gosiewska, Chair on behalf of the Bureau of the EP Delegation for Relations with Belarus, along with her deputies Tomas Tobé and Michał Kobosko, issued a joint statement on the Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners of Belarus.
The website Charter97.org publishes the full statement:
— On 21 May 2021, Mr Vitold Ashurak, a member of the Belarusian Popular Front and local coordinator of the opposition movement "For Freedom", died under still unexplained circumstances while serving a five-year sentence in a Belarusian penal colony in Škloŭ. Mr Ashurak had repeatedly stood for election to local councils and the national parliament. His desire to serve the Belarusian nation was tragically cut short. Like thousands of other innocent Belarusians whose only dream was to live in a free and democratic country, he was unjustly convicted for "participation in collective actions seriously violating public order" and imprisoned.
Today, on this Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus, we honour the memory of Vitold Ashurak and six other political prisoners who have lost their lives in Belarusian detention facilities since 2021: Mikalai Klimovich, Ales Pushkin, Vadzim Khrasko, Ihar Lednik, Aliaksandr Kulinich, and Dzmitry Dudoits.
We express our unwavering solidarity with the approximately 1,200 political prisoners who remain detained in inhumane conditions in Lukashenka's penal colonies. These individuals are frequently subjected to torture, including beatings, electric shocks, and other forms of physical violence, as well as complete isolation, lack of medical care, and degrading, dehumanising treatment.
Arbitrary arrests and politically motivated detentions have become key instruments of the Lukashenka regime in its suppression of dissent. Thousands of Belarusians have been prosecuted on fabricated political charges and subjected to repressive detention conditions designed to humiliate and break their spirit. Widespread persecution has forced many into exile, where they continue to be prosecuted in absentia and face confiscation of their assets.The systematic human rights violations committed by the Lukashenka regime — some of which may constitute crimes against humanity — must not go unpunished.
We call on the European Union and its Member States to impose targeted sanctions on all those who have participated in the persecution, sentencing, and abuse -- including death -- of political prisoners. All perpetrators must be held accountable. Lukashenka's complicity in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine further highlights the urgency of accountability. In this context, we welcome the formal support, on 9 May 2025, for the establishment of a tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Justice must prevail, and those responsible for crimes against the Ukrainian people, including Aliaksandr Lukashenka, must be brought to justice.
We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a sovereign, free, and democratic Belarus. Until that day arrives, the voices of those imprisoned for defending fundamental rights and democratic values must not be forgotten. We urge the Lukashenka regime to immediately cease its repression and unconditionally release and rehabilitate all political prisoners. We will continue to work closely with EU Member States, EU institutions, and international partners to achieve this goal.
The right of the Belarusian people to determine their own future must be respected. It is our shared responsibility to support their legitimate aspiration to live in freedom, dignity, and with full respect for human rights.
Жыве Беларусь! Long Live Belarus!