European Parliament to call to cancel Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk

The European Parliament is expected to adopt a resolution tomorrow demanding to move the Ice Hockey World Championship from Belarus.

MEP Marek Migalski posted on his blog (translated by Charter97.org):

“I've just returned from the talks on the European Parliament resolution on Belarus. The text of the resolution reads as follows:

“Calls on the National Ice Hockey Federations of the EU Member States and all other democratic nations to urge the IIHF, including during its meeting at its next Congress in May in Helsinki, Finland, to revisit its earlier decision and to relocate to another host country the 2014 World Ice Hockey championship in Belarus until all political prisoners, recognized by international human rights organizations as "prisoners of conscious", are released and until the regime shows clear signs of its commitment to respect human rights and the rule of law.”

The MEP also said the efforts applied during three months to move the championship were successful and thanked all people engaged, including Jacek Protasiewicz. “It's now important to convince the national ice hockey federations. Such events should not be held in the countries, where political prisoners remain behind bars and opposition activists face tortures,” Marek Migalski stressed.