MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on further repression against the people of Belarus, in particular the cases of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski
8.3.2023 - (2023/2573(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 132(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Petras Auštrevičius, Nicola Beer, Bernard Guetta, Nathalie Loiseau, Karen Melchior, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Karin Karlsbro, Ramona Strugariu, Róża Thun und Hohenstein, Hilde Vautmans
on behalf of the Renew Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0164/2023
B9‑0165/2023
European Parliament resolution on further repression against the people of Belarus, in particular the cases of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Belarus,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to all other human rights conventions to which Belarus is a party,
– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 21-22 October 2021,
– having regard to the statements by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell of 25 March 2021 on the targeting of the Union of Poles in Belarus, of 17 January 2023 on the trials of opposition leaders and journalists, and of 3 March 2023 on the sentencing of Ales Bialiatski and other human rights defenders,
– having regard to the statement of 7 October 2022 by the Spokesperson of the European External Action Service on the court ruling against independent media representatives,
– having regard to the reports of 4 May 2021 and 20 July 2022 of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, to the UN Human Rights Council and the call of 10 October 2022 by UN experts for the immediate release of jailed Nobel prize winner Ales Bialiatski and other rights defenders in Belarus,
– having regard to the statements by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, of 15 September 2022 on the continued jailing of journalists in Belarus and of 7 October 2022 on the continued persecution of Belarusian media professionals,
– having regard to the comment of 3 March 2023 by UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on the sentencing of human rights defenders in Belarus,
– having regard to the G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement on Belarus of 4 November 2022,
– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the Belarusian regime has continued its repressions against the people of Belarus, with civil society representatives, human rights defenders, journalists, opposition activists and many others being persecuted for political reasons; whereas criminal prosecution remains one of the most severe forms of repression, and remains widespread;
B. whereas, as of March 2023, there are more than 1 450 people on the list maintained by the Viasna Human Rights Centre of Belarusian political prisoners , including the Sakharov Prize and Nobel Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski;
C. whereas Ales Bialiatski, a prominent human rights defender and founder of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, was arrested on 12 February 2022 and is currently being held in pre-trial detention; whereas, on 5 January 2023, politically motivated trials were begun against human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Prize laureate and the chairman of Viasna, Valiantsin Stefanovich, a member of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, Uladzimir Labkovich, coordinator of the ‘Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections’ campaign, and Zmitser Salauyou; whereas the prosecution called for harsh prison sentences against these human rights defenders; whereas Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Zmitser Salauyou and Uladzimir Labkovich were sentenced to 10, 9, 8 and 7 years of imprisonment, respectively, on 3 March 2023;
D. whereas Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist and a member of the Union of Poles in Belarus, was arrested on 18 March 2021, and later sentenced to three years in prison on charges of ‘publicly insulting the President of Belarus’ and ‘inciting ethnic hatred’; whereas on 8 February 2023 the Hrodna Regional Court found him guilty of encouraging actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus and inciting ethnic hostility, and sentenced him to eight years in prison;
E. whereas the charges against Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski are widely considered to be politically motivated and aimed at silencing independent voices and suppressing freedom of expression and association;
F. whereas on 6 March 2023 the Minsk City Court sentenced the leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition and the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to 15 years in prison in absentia; whereas the court also sentenced other figures of the Coordination Council, namely Paviel Latushka, to 18 years in prison, and Maryia Maroz, Volha Kavalkova, and Siarhei Dyleuski each to 12 years in prison;
G. whereas the authorities in Belarus have repeatedly violated the human rights of the country’s citizens, including the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association; whereas repression continues to affect all sectors of society, including academia, the media and human rights defenders;
H. whereas the Lukashenka regime continues to target lawyers defending political prisoners, such as Vital Brahinets, who, due to his defence of several political prisoners, including Ales Bialiatski, was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment;
I. whereas the Belarusian authorities continue to adopt measures restricting the rights of Belarusians living abroad; whereas, in 2022 and 2023, 58 people were arrested after returning to Belarus for their participation in the 2020 protests or for sharing content deemed ‘extremist’ on social media;
J. whereas the Belarusian regime continues to severely restrict the freedom of association; whereas in December 2022 the Belarusian government submitted a bill to parliament on amending the Law on Political Parties, which makes the conditions for the existence of political parties extremely difficult;
K. whereas the Lukashenka regime has taken increasing repressive measures against national minorities in Belarus, in particular the Polish and Lithuanian minorities, including the closure of schools teaching in the national minority languages;
L. whereas, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, public discourse is almost completely suppressed and the media are severely repressed;
M. whereas the Belarusian government initiated ‘The Way Home’ programme, which consists of ‘inviting’ Belarusians who had left the country in recent years to return to Belarus, with the promise that they will not be persecuted provided they make an official confession; whereas many Belarusians who have come back to their country have been arrested, persecuted and sometimes sentenced to imprisonment because they took part in protests, published comments on social media criticising the Lukashenka regime or donated to victims of the repression in Belarus;
N. whereas administrative persecution is one of the instruments the Lukashenka regime uses to silence the opposition and any voices questioning the regime; whereas, in January 2023, the Viasna Human Rights Centre reported at least 350 arrests and 141 cases of politically motivated administrative persecution;
O. whereas the persecution of independent trade unions is still ongoing; whereas in January 2023, independent trade union leaders Henadz Fiadynich and Vasil Berasneu were sentenced to nine years in prison, while Vatslau Areshka was sentenced to eight years; whereas in February 2023 the members of Rabochy Rukh (Workers’ Movement) group Siarhei Shelest, Uladzimir Zhurauka, Andrei Paheryla, Hanna Ablab, Aliaksandr Hashnikau, Siarhei Dziuba, Ihar Mints, Valiantsin Tseranevich, Siarhei Shametska and Aliaksandr Kapshul were accused of high treason and of creating and participating in an extremist organisation and were sentenced to between 11 and 15 years in prison; whereas the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus continues adding activists and leaders of the democratic trade union movement to lists of extremists and terrorists; whereas the lists of ‘extremist formations’ and of ‘extremists and terrorists’ have been greatly expanded;
P. whereas representatives of democratic forces are still detained in inhumane conditions; whereas political prisoners continue to report deteriorating health conditions, humiliation and ill treatment;
Q. whereas the EU has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for the repression in Belarus, and has provided support to civil society and independent media in Belarus;
R. whereas the Belarusian authorities continue to support Russia’s unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine by allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory for military attacks against Ukraine;
S. whereas in February 2023 Belarusian officials announced plans to connect to the network and later to commission the second power unit of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Astravyets; whereas the construction of the Belarusian NPP took place in violation of technical standards and international conventions and registered numerous security incidents, raising serious concerns about the safety of the plant;
1. Continues to condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing repression of civil society, human rights defenders, journalists, and political activists in Belarus, including through politically motivated trials;
2. Reiterates its demand for an immediate end to the repression, as well as the unconditional release of all political prisoners and all persons arbitrarily detained, arrested or sentenced on politically motivated grounds, for all charges against them to be dropped, as well as for their full rehabilitation and financial compensation for damages incurred due to their detention; urges the Belarusian authorities to cease all repression, persecution, torture and ill treatment of the people of Belarus and reminds the authorities of their obligations to respect the human rights of all Belarusian citizens, including the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association;
3. Continues to stand firmly with the people of Belarus who continue to fight for a free, democratic and sovereign country despite severe repression;
4. Condemns the detention and sentencing of Andrzej Poczobut and the arrest and trial of Ales Bialiatski and Viasna members Valiantsin Stefanovic and Uladzimir Labkovich; denounces the sentencing of Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Zmitser Salauyou and Uladzimir Labkovich to 10, 9, 8 and 7 years of imprisonment, respectively; denounces the numerous violations of their right to a fair trial and calls for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as their full rehabilitation and compensation;
5. Condemns the sentencing in absentia of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition and the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, and other figures of the Coordination Council, namely Paviel Latushka, Maryia Maroz, Volha Kavalkova and Siarhei Dyleuski; calls on the Member States, particularly those were these figures currently live, to ensure their safety and protection against the Lukashenka regime;
6. Reiterates its strong condemnation of Belarus’s involvement in Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine; condemns the belligerent rhetoric of Belarusian leaders against Ukraine; reiterates that Lukashenka and other Belarusian officials share responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine and should be held accountable in the appropriate international courts; expresses its support to the Belarusian volunteers and partisans fighting for Belarus’ independence and helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s aggression;
7. Calls for the EU and its Member States to strengthen the EU sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the repression in Belarus and ensure their proper enforcement; expresses its regret that Belarus was not included in the 10th package of sanctions against Russia and supporters of its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine; calls for the adoption of credible sanctions against the Belarusian individuals and entities supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and for the adoption of the necessary measures to avoid the circumvention of the EU sanctions against Russia through Belarus;
8. Condemns the Law on Citizenship, signed by Aliaksandr Lukashenka, which opens the possibility of depriving Belarusians living abroad of their citizenship; underlines that the Belarusian authorities violate Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Belarus is a party, which safeguards the right to a nationality and prohibits its arbitrary deprivation; urges the Belarusian authorities to cease ‘The Way Home’ programme;
9. Condemns the intense harassment and persecution of trade unions; denounces the politically-motivated sentences against independent trade union leaders Henadz Fiadynich, Vasil Berasneu and Vatslau Areshka, which illustrate a complete disregard for their human rights and clear violations of international labour conventions;
10. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to continue to provide support to Belarusian civil society, independent media and the democratic political groups and structures, including the Coordination Council and the United Transitional Cabinet; calls on the Belarusian democratic forces to maintain and promote unity, based on the objective of a free, democratic, and independent Belarus;
11. Calls on the Conference of Presidents to consider inviting the Coordination Council and the United Transitional Government to represent Belarus in the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and related meetings on a permanent basis;
12. Condemns the Lukashenka regime’s efforts to efface Belarusian culture and to Russify the Belarusian nation; calls on the EU to support Belarusian culture and Belarusian cultural organisations;
13. Condemns the persecution of national minority groups in Belarus and their representatives; calls on the Belarusian authorities to cease all measures taken against national minorities and respect their rights, including their right to education in minority languages;
14. Calls on the EU institutions to continue to support Member States’ efforts to protect and welcome Belarusians forced to flee their country; calls on the EU institutions to support the newly established Mission of Democratic Belarus in Brussels and the People’s Embassies of Belarus;
15. Underlines the importance of strengthening EU unity as regards Belarus, including as regards the diplomatic isolation of the current regime; in this context, expresses its disapproval of the 13 February visit to Minsk by the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, which went against the EU policy on Belarus, and disapproves of the continuing issuance by some Member States of Schengen visas to individuals close to Aliaksandr Lukashenka;
16. Expresses serious concern regarding plans for the commissioning of Unit 2 of the Belarusian NPP in Astravyets and plans to build a second nuclear power plant in Belarus given the unsafe construction of the Belarusian NPP, which took place in violation of technical standards and international conventions;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the authorities of the Republic of Belarus, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.