The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on Belarus,

–  having regard to Rules 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas former presidential candidate and 2020 Sakharov Prize laureate Mikola Statkevich has been imprisoned on politically motivated charges for 14 years; whereas he is kept in solitary confinement under maximum security; whereas his health is deteriorating and his lawyers and family have been denied information and contact for over 300 days;

B.  whereas prominent Belarusian political prisoners, including Ales Bialiatski, Maria Kalesnikava, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka, Maksim Znak, Pavel Sevyarynets, Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, Andrzej Poczobut and Ihar Losik, have been subjected to similar isolation;

C.  whereas in its report of 3 February 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that detention conditions in Belarus amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and torture; whereas prisoners do not receive timely medical assistance or legal counsel;

D.  whereas human rights defenders, democratic opposition politicians, civil society representatives and activists’ family members are systematically subjected to violent repression by the Lukashenka regime and forced to flee;

1.  Demands the immediate, unconditional release of Mikola Statkevich and all 1 500 political prisoners; calls for the withdrawal of all charges against them, their full rehabilitation and financial compensation for the damage suffered as a result of being deprived of liberty;

2.  Insists that the prisoners must receive proper medical assistance and access to lawyers, family, diplomats and international organisations, which can assess their condition and provide aid; regrets the inaction of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Belarus;

3.  Strongly condemns the unjustified, politically motivated sentences and continued repression of Belarusian democratic forces, civil society, human rights defenders, trade unionists, journalists, clergy, political activists and their family members;

4.  Continues to stand firmly in solidarity with the people, democratic opposition and civil society of Belarus in their struggle for a free, sovereign and democratic Belarus;

5.  Calls for the EU and its Member States to support the political prisoners and their families by seizing every opportunity to demand their immediate release, summoning the regime’s remaining diplomatic representatives to ask for proof of their condition and location, granting humanitarian visas to effectively respond to the issue of statelessness, providing rehabilitation and practical and financial support, and increasing pressure on the regime through new sanctions;

6.  Calls on the Member States to ensure the continuing documentation of international crimes and demand accountability at UN level, through the OHCHR examining the human rights situation and through preserving the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus;

7.  Reiterates its call to prosecute and sanction all those responsible for human rights violations and war crimes under the Lukashenka regime;

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