EU is Urged to Preserve Sanctions against Lukashenka's Regime

Ales Bialiatski, Mikola Statkevich, Andrei Sannikov have sent an open letter to the EU leaders.

Three renowned Belarusian former political prisoners – human rights defender, Chair of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” Ales Bialiatski, presidential candidate in 2010 and leader of Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly) Mikola Statkevich and presidential candidate in 2010, leader of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Andrei Sannikov have sent an open letter to the EU leaders calling on them to maintain in full the EU sanctions regarding Belarusian officials and legal entities.

All three have gone through arbitrary detention, unfair trial and torture and degrading treatment during pretrial detention and while serving their sentences. Belarusian authorities released them, as well as other political prisoners, only because of international pressure but have not rehabilitated them. In their letter, Bialiatski, Statkevich and Sannikov are calling on the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federika Mogherini and all Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU member states not to suspend sanctions until all conditions, including rehabilitation of all former political prisoners and significant improvement of the human rights situation, are met.

“We urge the EU Council to refrain from any suspension or lifting of targeted restrictive measures regarding Belarusian officials and entities, until all conditions included in the Council’s conclusions in previous years are met. These conditions, clearly set forth in 2011 and repeated annually in 2012, 2013, and 2014, are as follows: “immediate release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners and significant improvement in the respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles.” Besides the recent release of political prisoners, no other conditions have been met,” - says the letter.

Police brutality against demonstrators after the presidential elections of December 19, 2010, detention of more than 700 people, torture and inhuman treatment of the detainees, and the following unfair trials resulting in conviction of over 40 people, widely recognised as political prisoners, remain uninvestigated.

The government of Belarus has not implemented any of the recommendations of international organisations addressing human rights and rule of law problems which accumulated after the crackdown in winter 2010 – spring 2011. The situation in Belarus has developed into a protracted human rights crisis where violations have “systemic and systematic” character, in the words of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus. It has resulted from adoption of a series of repressive laws and application of increasingly repressive practices, essentially destroying fundamental freedoms.

The Belarus government does not cooperate with international human rights mechanisms on the most important problems of human rights and does not recognise the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus.

Not a single political prisoner has been rehabilitated.

Partial or full suspension of sanctions would essentially give the approval stamp by EU to impunity and continued repressions in Belarus. Without firm demands by the international community of legislative and other changes, conditions for "hostage-trade" practice by the regime will remain, says the letter of the three renowned former political prisoners.