Council of Europe urges Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners

Participants of Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) of the Council of Europe expresses its deep concern with the situation of human rights in Belarus.

As BelaPAN learnt from the CE press service, the resolution taken at the Conference in Strasbourg on 22 January says it.

The document reads “deep concern with the abrupt worsening of human rights situation in Belarus in 2008.” “In 2 weeks as many as 45 people have been sentenced to 15 days or more in torturous prison conditions, hundreds of people have been heavily beaten by the police during peaceful rallies,” the resolution says.

The Conference participants think “the authoritarian rule in Belarus has led to the discrimination of the rights of most Belarusians.” “The interference of the State in private life of at least 1767 “destructive” people as acknowledged by the head of the KGB, cruel suppression of the freedom of speech, assembly and association are facts of everyday life,” the document states. The Conference was particularly concerned with the fact that political prisoners Aliaksandr Kazulin, Andrey Klimau, Zmiter Dashkevich, Artur Finkevich, Yury Lyavonau and Alyaksandr Zdvizkou are in prison.

The Conference reiterates its appeal to the Belarusian authorities to “to release all political prisoners;

to cease pressure on political parties, non-governmental organisations and persecution of their activists, to annul the Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code that criminalises membership and activities in the name of non-registered NGOs; to respect the rights of peaceful assembly, freedom of speech and association; to respect freedom of information, including full access to independent information in respect to elections, including exit-polling, and allow activities of independent mass media; to create conditions for the conduct of free and fair democratic elections.”