What changed

on the immediate risk of further repression by Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus: threats from the investigative Committee

B100219/2025

B100229/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on Immediate risk of further repression by Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus – threats from the Investigative Committee

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on the immediate risk of further repression by Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus: threats from the investigative Committee

(2025/2629(RSP))

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Belarus,

– having regard to Rule 150(5)144 of its Rules of Procedure,

whereas, the EU does not recognize the fraudulent Belarusian presidential election of January 26, 2025, and deems the detention of political prisoners unacceptable; whereas Belarus’s complicity in the war in Ukraine further undermines its commitment to international peace and human rights;

whereas the Belarusian authorities are scaling up practises of internal and transnational repression against its citizens; whereas the Investigative Committee is a preliminary inquiry body that reports directly to Lukashenka; whereas in 2024, legislative amendments granted the Investigative Committee access to the personal data of Belarusians without their consent;

whereas the Lukashenka regime expands its repression beyond Belarus, targeting Belarusians abroad with surveillance, threats, and prosecutions; whereas official statements by the Investigative Committee of Belarus in January and March 2025 confirm escalating transnational repression, particularly against Freedom Day participants; whereas the regime monitors Belarusians abroad, identifying over 100 individuals linked to the Coordination Council as suspects; whereas since August 2020, the Investigative Committee labelled nearly 19,000 acts as “extremist-related crimes” while denying police violence in 2020, reflecting a systematic effort to silence dissent and dismantle opposition through intimidation and legal persecution;

whereas the Investigative Committee has opened “special proceedings” against hundreds of Belarusians in exile, including 104 persons who had rallied in different European cities and 257 participants who had run in the elections to the Coordination Council in exile; whereas they were charged under various articles of the Criminal Code for discrediting Belarus, conspiring to seize State power, creating an extremist group, among others;

Strongly condemns the continued expansion of repression by the Lukashenka regime, which now targets Belarusians abroad with criminal prosecution, asset seizures, and other measures designed to silence dissent;

whereas the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus have stated in its 7 February 2025 report that the Belarusian authorities continue to rely on arbitrary arrests and detentions, accompanied by torture or ill-treatment, as its primary method of repressing society; whereas they also note that the thousands of Belarusians arrested and tried on politically motivated grounds are systematically subjected to a separate and harsher regime of detention designed to punish and humiliate them;

Denounces the deployment of judicial instruments as tools of repression by the Belarusian Investigative Committee, which seeks to criminalize peaceful participation in pro-democracy demonstrations and intimidate both the participants and their families through pervasive surveillance and legal threats;

whereas the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported evidence for crimes against humanity committed by the Lukashenka regime, specifically in the context of unlawful imprisonment and persecution;

Condemns the systematic violation of international human rights norms ­ including the rights to freedom of assembly, expression, and political participation ­ as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reinforced by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Continues to stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Belarus and demands the immediate and unconditional release and effective rehabilitation of all political prisoners;

Demands an immediate cessation of repression against Belarusians within Belarus and abroad, including politically motivated charges, asset seizures, and surveillance of exiles and demonstrators, and calls for the release of all political prisoners;

Condemns the Belarusian authorities for its policy of transnational repression against its citizens abroad; deplores the “special proceedings” by the Investigative Committee targeting Belarusians in exile and considers them clear examples of transnational repression by the Belarusian authorities;

Stresses the need for the EU and its member states to maintain public scrutiny over Belarus’ imprisonment of individuals for politically motivated charges and the targeting of their relatives, by using all public channels at their disposal to increase the visibility and names of individuals imprisoned or detained for political reasons; calls to expand and enforce targeted sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for transnational repression;

Calls on the EU and Member States to swiftly step up efforts to support and protect Belarusians in exile in the EU and those looking to flee Belarus; reiterates its call on the Commission and Member States to simplify the procedures for obtaining visas, residence permits and provisional identification documents for those fleeing Belarus for political reasons; calls on the EU and Member States to prepare procedures to deal with cases of statelessness of Belarusians in the EU who cannot return to Belarus to renew identity documents;

Calls on the EU and its member states to strengthen legal protections and visa access for Belarusian exiles, pro-democracy activists, and those fleeing persecution; urges to ensure a coordinated EU response to support Belarusian citizens with expired passports who face the risk of human rights violations upon return;

Welcomes the work of the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights situation in Belarus and supports the recommendations from its recent report; echoes the recommendation by OHCHR for UN Member States to consider working towards accountability through national proceedings, based on accepted principles of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, consistent with international due process;

Calls on the EU and its member states to maintain and expand their financial, technical, and political support for independent civil society activists, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders operating both within Belarus and in exile; urges to continue monitoring and documenting their trials;

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

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