What changed

B100325/2026

European Parliament resolution on the deteriorating situation of political prisoners in Belarus, in particular the case of Aliaksandra Pulinovich

(2026/2766(RSP))

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

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRules Rights150(5) and the UN Convention136(4) onof theits RightsRules of the Child,Procedure,

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

A. whereas in January 2024, 16-year-old Aliaksandra Pulinovich was detained in the ‘Black Nightingales’ case concerning graffiti opposing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, placed in a punishment cell and denied legal defence and parental support; whereas she was sentenced to over 10 years’ imprisonment in closed proceedings and subsequently included on a ‘terrorists list’;

whereas then 16-year-old pupil Aliaksandra Pulinovich was detained in January 2024 and later sentenced to 10 years and 3 months in prison on politically motivated charges;

B. whereas Pulinovich’s case illustrates the Belarusian authorities’ use of anti-terrorism legislation to criminalise young people for political reasons;

whereas, during her pre-trial detention, she was repeatedly held in isolation and added to the regime’s ‘terrorist’ and ‘extremist’ lists; whereas, in April 2026, state television broadcast a film smearing her and other teenagers as having plotted attacks on police and prosecution offices;

C. whereas the Lukashenka regime systematically represses political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists, students, national minorities and citizens exercising their fundamental freedoms; whereas 853 political prisoners remain arbitrarily detained in inhumane conditions;

whereas Aliaksandra Pulinovich‘s detention and prosecution breach the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

1. Demands the immediate and unconditional release of Pulinovich and all political prisoners, their full rehabilitation and the full restoration of their rights; reiterates its unwavering solidarity with all political prisoners and their families;

whereas about 868 political prisoners remain in prison in Belarus; whereas, since the fraudulent presidential election of 9 August 2020, the regime has been exercising systematic repression against pro-democratic forces, activists, human rights defenders, civil society, independent media, and trade unions, subjecting detainees to ill-treatment and the denial of medical care, with several dying in custody;

2. Urges the authorities to end all forms of ill-treatment of political prisoners, incommunicado detention, the denial of medical care and access to lawyers and family, and forced labour, and to investigate deaths in custody and allegations of torture;

whereas the recent forced deportations of released political prisoners and the repression of their relatives in Belarus amounts to an additional form of political persecution;

3. Strongly condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Belarusians, particularly the imprisonment of minors such as Pulinovich; denounces the misuse of anti-terrorism and anti-extremism legislation to criminalise anti-war expression, youth dissent and solidarity with Ukraine, and to suppress peaceful dissent, including bringing severe charges against young people to intimidate them; calls for the lists of terrorists and extremists to be abolished; urges the Belarusian authorities to comply with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

1. Condemns the politically motivated conviction and imprisonment of Aliaksandra Pulinovich for acts allegedly committed when she was a 16-year-old child and urges the Belarusian authorities to comply with their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

4. Acknowledges US efforts to secure political prisoners’ release; underlines, however, that prisoner releases are motivated by the regime’s concern for economic survival and are not accompanied by political transformation or reform justifying normalisation of relations; insists that releasing all political prisoners and ending repression remain preconditions for political dialogue and economic cooperation; demands an end to the forced deportation of released political prisoners and the repression of their relatives;

2. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Aliaksandra Pulinovich and of all political prisoners in Belarus, and for all charges against them to be dropped and their convictions quashed;

5. Urges the EU, its Member States and international partners to intensify efforts to secure the release of all political prisoners, including summoning the regime’s ambassadors to determine the prisoners’ condition and location, monitoring political prisoners’ cases and granting humanitarian visas, and to provide rehabilitation and practical and financial support;

3. Demands that the authorities guarantee all detainees access to health care, lawyers and family members, end incommunicado detention and ill-treatment, and investigate deaths in custody and allegations of torture;

6. Calls on the Council to broaden, strengthen and strictly enforce targeted sanctions against all persons and entities responsible for politically motivated prosecutions, repression and torture;

4. Urges the Belarusian authorities to halt the systematic repression, including the transnational repression of exiled Belarusians, the forced deportations of released political prisoners, renewed repression against them and their relatives, and introduce a moratorium on the death penalty; calls on the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative to strengthen sanctions against those responsible for the repression;

7. Calls for the EU and its Member States to support the documentation of crimes committed by the Lukashenka regime, including at UN level, and to further accountability through international mechanisms, including Lithuania’s ICC referral and investigations and national proceedings based on extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction;

5. Reiterates its call on the EU and its Member States to support the political prisoners and their families by seizing every opportunity to request their immediate release, summoning the regime’s ambassadors to ask for proof of their condition and location, granting humanitarian visas, providing rehabilitation, practical and financial support;

8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the Commission, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the de facto authorities of Belarus.

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and the Belarusian de facto authorities.