Deutsche Welle: Brussels Demands To Release Prisoners Of Lukashenka Regime

The action was timed to coincide with the birthday of Ales Bialiatski.

On Wednesday, September 25, in front of the Embassy of Belarus in Brussels, a rally was held in honor of the birthday of the founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, and for the release of political prisoners of the Lukashenka regime. The demonstration was attended by MEPs, representatives of the Partnership for Human Rights (Libereco), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and members of the Belarusian diaspora. In total, about 30 people came out in front of the embassy entrance, many holding White-Red-White flags, posters and banners, the Deutsche Welle reports.

The participants of the action handed over a petition to the diplomatic mission of Belarus calling on Minsk to immediately and unconditionally release Bialiatski and all other political prisoners, the number of which exceeds 1,300. The petition was signed by 82,000 people from 82 countries, so the folder with signature sheets, handed over to the Belarusian authorities, looked like a tome.

MEPs are ready to continue to push for the release of prisoners

Representatives of the embassy did not respond to the preliminary request of the organizers to hand over the petition in person, so one of the MEPs present, German Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, entered the embassy and left a tome of files near the door. Earlier, she took over the patronage of Ales Bialiatski as part of the campaign of solidarity of European politicians with political prisoners in Belarus. “We won't rest until we free every inmate,” Strack-Zimmerman said at the demonstration. “Let's continue this fight until justice is done.”

MEP from the Netherlands Thijs Reuten said that it was necessary to toughen the sanctions of the European Union against the Lukashenka regime, and Polish MP Michał Kobosko recalled that a few days earlier the European Parliament had adopted a resolution by an overwhelming majority demanding the release of all political prisoners in Belarus.

Fellow fear for the health of Bialiatski

Ales Bialiatski is 62 years old. Given his first conviction, this is the seventh birthday that the Belarusian human rights activist spends behind bars. He is in solitary confinement in complete isolation and is incommunicado. Bialiatski's health, in particular his eyesight, has deteriorated, said Leanid Sudalenka, the Chairman of the Homel branch of the Viasna Human Rights Center, who was released from prison and left Belarus in 2023. According to him, since Ales Bialiatski has no relatives left in the country, no one can transfer money and parcels to the prisoner, which leaves him completely at the mercy of the Belarusian authorities.

Bialiatski's sentence will expire in 2031. Companions point out that, given the conditions in which the Nobel laureate is held, his health may not be able to withstand. Other prisoners of Aliaksandr Lukashenka's regime are also held in extremely harsh conditions and complete isolation, including Maria Kalesnikava, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Maksim Znak, Viktar Babaryka, and Mikalai Statkevich.

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