What changed

B100026/2024

P10_TA(2024)0009

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on theThe severe situation of political prisoners in Belarus

(2024/2804(RSP))

PE762.610

European Parliament resolution of 19 September 2024 on the severe situation of political prisoners in Belarus (2024/2804(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its numerous previous resolutions on Belarus,Belarus since August 2020,

– having regard to Rule 150150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the next election in Belarus are foreseen in early 2025;

A. whereas since the fraudulent presidential election of 9 August 2020, the Lukashenka regime has been systematically repressing political activists, civil society, media, trade unions and any dissidents and their defenders, and has arbitrarily detained tens of thousands of people;

B. whereas the freedom of assembly, free speech and fair trial rights are paramount to democratic regimes;

B. whereas Lukashenka has announced his candidacy for the 2025 presidential election for a seventh term;

C. whereas UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus, amongst others, have attested of multiple reports of cruel and ill treatment in detention; whereas many political detainees are in critical condition, with deteriorating health, such as Maria Kalesnikava and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ales Bialiatski, Chairperson of Human Rights Centre Viasna; whereas political prisoners are held incommunicado;

C. whereas many of the 1 350 political prisoners in Belarus are subjected to life-threatening conditions and several have died in prison;

D. whereas Aliaksandr Yarashuk, the President of Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on 27 December 2022 under probed charges; whereas he is currently in a “strict regime” prison where he is kept in a cell for 23 hours a day and allowed just one four-hour visit and one item of post per year;

1. Demands that the Belarusian authorities immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons;

Strongly condemns the crackdown on political opponents, trade unionists, journalists and NGOs;

2. Expresses utmost concern about the situation of many political prisoners, including Maria Kalesnikava, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Mikalai Statkevich, Ales Bialiatski, Maksim Znak, Viktar Babaryka, Ihar Losik, Palina Szarenda-Panasiuk, Pavel Seviarynets, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Mikita Zalatarou and Yana Pinchuk, many of whom have been held incommunicado for months or years, face severe health problems, like Maria Kalesnikava and Andrzej Poczobut, and are subjected to isolation, ill treatment and torture;

Acknowledges with satisfaction the release of 78 political prisoners by presidential pardon;

3. Regrets that Belarusian political prisoners could not benefit from the recent efforts to free political prisoners and Western citizens in Russia and Belarus; calls for intensified efforts to free them;

Notes, however, that an estimated 1,348 people are still behind bars for political reasons;

4. Urges the Belarusian authorities to respect the human rights of detainees, supply information about their situation, provide necessary medical treatment and allow access for lawyers, family members and the International Committee of the Red Cross;

Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including trade unionists;

5. Reiterates its call for the EU and its Member States to support the political prisoners and their families by requesting, at every opportunity, their immediate release, summoning the regime’s ambassadors to request proof of their condition and location, simplifying the procedures for obtaining visas and provisional identification documents for those fleeing Belarus, and providing rehabilitation, practical and financial support;

Deplores the inhumane conditions of detention imposed on political detainees, including trade unionists; calls on Belarusian authorities to uphold their international obligations;

6. Calls for the EU and its Member States to broaden and strengthen sanctions against the individuals and entities responsible for the repression in Belarus;

Invites Serbian authorities, in the light of the above, to cease the extradition process of Belarusian journalist, activist and human rights defender, Andrei Gnyot;

7. Expresses concern about persecution in exile, e.g. the abuse of Interpol arrest warrants to achieve extradition of political opponents from non-EU countries; calls on Serbia to refrain from extraditing Belarusian journalist Andrei Hnyot and for the EU and Member States to monitor his case; expresses concern about the 300 000 Belarusians who have been forced to leave Belarus since 2020 and face political persecution abroad;

Is particularly alarmed at the repression of journalists; notes with dismay that 2023 was already the deadliest year for journalists in the world; is concerned at this worrying picture for the guarantee of information;

8. Calls for the EU and its Member States to work towards holding the Lukashenka regime accountable for its crimes and to apply the principle of universal jurisdiction;

Deeply regrets that the Government of Belarus chose not to cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and of the Republic of Serbia, the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces and the de facto authorities of the Republic of Belarus.

Reaffirms its position against the death penalty; underlines that Belarus is the only country in Europe that still has the death penalty in its penal code; calls on the Belarusian authorities to abolish the death penalty;

Praises the work of the Council of Europe on 15-point plan for Belarus, including with regard journalists;

Calls on the EU and its member states to provide full support to the newly established UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus to collect and preserve evidence of potential international crimes beyond the 2020 election period, and to provide further authoritative legal qualification under international law of continuing grave abuses, with a view to advancing accountability;

Reiterates its solidarity with the people of Belarus and their aspirations;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, OHCHR, the representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces and the authorities of Belarus.