EU demands release of all Belarusian political prisoners

Brussels welcomes the release of Aliaksandr Frantskevich and regrets the activist had to serve such a long prison term.

Peter Stano, a spokesman for EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, made this statement, Radio Svaboda reports.

He says Brussels has noticed the release of Aliaksandr Frantskevich, who received a politically motivated sentence and deplores the fact that Dashkevich and Frantskevich were detained, tried and sentenced on political motives and Frantskevich had to remain in prison by the end of his term.

“The European Union calls on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release and rehabilitate all political prisoners. The release and rehabilitation of political prisoners will definitely have a positive influence on the process of a dialogue and improvement of relations between the EU and the Belarusian authorities,” Peter Stano said.

Aliaksandr Frantskevich, who served his term in correctional colony No. 22 in Ivatesvichy, has been released early in the morning today. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison in May 2011 in the “anarchist case”. Frantskevich and anarchist activists Ihar Alinevich and Mikalai Dziadok were charged with carrying out arson attacks on a number of administrative buildings. The activists were given prison terms of from 3 to 7 years, though their guilt was not proved and the damage they allegedly cause was insignificant.