On Thursday 14 December, MEPs urged Belarus to immediately and unconditionally release political opponent Mikalai Statkevich and all 1,500 political prisoners.
In the joint resolution they adopted (489 votes in favour, 7 against and 42 abstentions), the MEPs strongly condemned the “ unjustified, politically motivated sentences and continued repression” of Belarusian democratic forces, civil society, human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, the clergy and political activists and members of their families.
The European Parliament is calling for all charges against political prisoners to be dropped, adding that they must be given appropriate medical care and access to their lawyers, families, diplomats and international organisations.
According to the European Parliament, the EU and the Member States must support political prisoners and their families, in particular by issuing humanitarian visas “to effectively respond to the issue of statelessness”.
MEPs also reiterate their call for sanctions against all those responsible for human rights violations and war crimes under Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/a4p (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)