What changed

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

B100221/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on 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 RulesRule 150(5) and 136(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Lukashenka regime has been escalating internal and transnational repression to dismantle the structures representing the democratic forces of Belarus;

A. whereas ever since peaceful protests broke out against the massively falsified presidential election of 9 August 2020, the Lukashenka regime, with Russian support, has been continuing its severe repression against the Belarusian people, with many citizens being harassed, arrested, tortured and convicted for expressing opposition to the regime or for protesting against the falsification of the election or the systematic human rights violations;

B. whereas UN experts recently confirmed arbitrary arrests and detentions, accompanied by torture or ill treatment and even reported evidence for crimes against humanity; whereas more than 1 200 political prisoners, including Viktoryia Kulsha, Volha Mayorava, Alena Hnauk and Andrzej Poczobut, are still jailed;

B. whereas, since 2020, tens of thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained and, as of March 2025, there remain 1 200 political prisoners in Belarus, many of whom suffer under life-threatening conditions; whereas the actual number of political prisoners might be substantially higher;

C. whereas the Belarusian Investigative Committee has opened ‘special proceedings’ against hundreds of Belarusians who joined rallies in various European cities or ran in the Coordination Council’s elections; whereas the families of the Belarusian diaspora were threatened with imprisonment and asset confiscation if they participated in Freedom Day protests;

C. whereas recent statements by the Investigative Committee of Belarus point to increased repression, in particular through broadened surveillance and threats against Belarusian citizens abroad;

D. whereas Lukashenka’s regime is exploiting the expiry of many Belarusian passports to force the diaspora to return to Belarus;

D. whereas the recent suspension of the right to asylum by the Polish government might negatively affect Belarusians fleeing persecution;

E. whereas the Belarusian regime’s increasing cooperation with Russian security services heightens the risk of coordinated repression, surveillance and hybrid threats in EU territory;

1. Calls for an immediate end to the repression of the people of Belarus and reiterates its firm solidarity with all those who continue to fight the Lukashenka regime’s massive and systematic repression in Belarus and against Belarusian citizens abroad;

F. whereas Belarusian state media dominates the information landscape; whereas US funding cuts have severely affected Belarus’s civil society and free media;

2. Urges to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners;

1. Demands that Lukashenka’s regime immediately cease its repression, including the surveillance of exiles and demonstrators, and release and rehabilitate all political prisoners;

3. Reiterates its concern about the situation regarding human rights and fundamental freedoms in Belarus, including the unabated systematic repression, the continued crackdown on the democratic opposition, civil society, independent media, trade unions, religious organisations and political parties, persistent impunity, and the structural lack of respect for due process and fair trials;

2. 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;

4. Expresses concern about intensified persecution committed in exile, such as the abuse of Interpol arrest warrants by the Lukashenka regime to bring about the extradition of political opponents from non-EU countries as well as the intensified surveillance of and threats against Belarusian citizens abroad;

3. Calls for EU-wide legal support and protection for exiled Belarusians by simplifying procedures for obtaining visas, resident permits and provisional IDs for individuals made stateless by extraterritorial persecution;

5. Calls on the countries concerned not to extradite Belarusian citizens who have fled the Lukashenka regime and may face persecution on their return to Belarus; calls for the EU and its Member States to raise the abuse of international arrest warrants with Interpol;

4. Reiterates its non-recognition of Lukashenka and considers the persecution of Belarusian citizens for peaceful democratic activities abroad via Investigative Committee ‘special proceedings’ to be a direct violation of the Member States’ territorial sovereignty; urges, therefore, the countries concerned to disregard Interpol arrest warrants for the extradition of Lukashenka’s political opponents;

6. Notes the increased targeting of individuals linked to the representative structures established by the democratic forces of Belarus in exile; urges the Commission and the Member States to continue assisting Belarusian democratic forces, civil society and independent media and encourages the representatives of the democratic forces to maintain and promote unity, based on the objective of a free, democratic and independent Belarus, among all Belarusian democratic forces and civil society;

5. Welcomes the sanctions on the President Property Management Directorate and the Central Election Commission, which issued politically motivated judgments;

7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces and the de facto authorities of the Republic of Belarus.

6. Urges the Member States to impose further sanctions equal to those imposed on Russia, particularly on officials responsible for transnational repression;

7. Urges the EU and its Member States to increase political, financial and technical support for the independent media, human rights defenders, trade unions and civil society initiatives operating within and outside Belarus, including monitoring trials and increasing the visibility of political prisoners;

8. Calls on the VP/HR to use INTCEN and EDMO to counteract Belarusian intelligence operations and disinformation;

9. Urges the International Criminal Court to expedite proceedings on crimes against humanity by Lukashenka’s regime and demands that Member States pursue accountability through national proceedings, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the VP/HR, the Council, the representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces and the Belarusian de facto authorities.