EP resolutions

European Parliament expresses serious concerns about the situation of many political prisoners in Belarus, who have been held incommunicado and are subjected to isolation, ill treatment and torture, as well as about the 300 000 Belarusians who have been forced to leave Belarus since 2020 and face political persecution abroad.

Parliament calls on the EU and its Member States to support the political prisoners, stepping up efforts to achieve their immediate release and to broaden and strengthen sanctions against the individuals and entities responsible for the repression in Belarus.

MEPs further urge the Belarusian authorities to respect the human rights of detainees, including providing necessary medical treatment and allow access for lawyers and family members.

European Parliament strongly condemns the recent wave of detentions targeting family members of political prisoners in Belarus, and urges the illegitimate Lukashenka's regime to cease repression, especially gender-based persecutions. Members call on the EU to respond by imposing stronger sanctions on the Lukashenka regime and to support the documentation of human rights violations in Belarus. In this regards, Parliament urges the Commission and Member States to back turning the OHCHR examination of the human rights situation in Belarus into a fully independent investigative mechanism.

Due to the lack of transparency, freedom and fairness in Belarus, the EP calls for the EU, its Member States, and the international community not to recognise the results of the parliamentary and local 'elections' to take place on 25 February.

The text adopted was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.

Members demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Mikalai Statkevich and all 1500 political prisoners in Belarus. A former presidential candidate and 2020 Sakharov Prize laureate, Mr Statkevich is serving a 14-year sentence based on politically motivated charges, with his health deteriorating due to being kept in solitary confinement.

Condemning the unjustified and politically motivated sentences orchestrated by Lukashenka's regime, they urged the EU to adopt new sanctions and reiterated their call to prosecute those who have committed human rights violations and war crimes in Belarus.

Members condemned in the strongest terms the unabated repression and systematic human rights violations continuously committed by Lukashenka's regime, including the persecution of minorities, as well as its complicity in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and noted with great concern the rampant political, economic, military and cultural subordination of Belarus to Moscow.

The text adopted was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.

Members urged the Belarusian authorities to immediately cease the mistreatment of Viktar Babaryka and other political prisoners, and to ensure proper medical assistance and access to lawyers, family, diplomats and international organisations.

The text adopted was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA, ECR and The Left groups.

Members strongly condemned the continued repression against dissenting voices in Belarus, including through politically motivated and closed-door mock trials, and denounced the recent sentencing to long jail terms of journalist Andrzej Poczobut and Sakharov Prize and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialatski, as well as prison sentences handed out in absentia to exiled Belarusian opposition leaders including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

As the Belarusian regime is acting as an accomplice to the Russian state's sponsorship of terrorism, Members called on the EU to expand its sanctions. In addition, the EU countries should prepare court cases against Belarusian officials involved in human rights violations under the universal jurisdiction principle.

Members called on EU institutions to support the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Brussels and strengthen ties with democratic forces.

The text adopted was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.

Members strongly condemn the sentences handed down to more than 1 400 political prisoners in Belarus and denounce the ongoing incarceration of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski.

Belarus should be recognised as an occupied territory from which Russian troops should immediately withdraw. Members strongly condemns Lukashenka's regime's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine. The regime shares responsibility with Russia for war crimes, for which it should be held accountable before an international tribunal and the ICC.

Members reiterate their call on EU countries and the European Commission to impose the same sanctions on Belarus that they have imposed on Russia, encourage the EU institutions to support Belarusian independent news outlets, and call for more systematic cooperation between the EU and Belarusian democratic forces.

The text adopted was tabled by the EPP, S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA and ECR groups.

After organising a sham referendum reinstating the country's nuclear status, the illegitimate regime has allowed Russian troops and weapons to move through Belarus' territory, use its airspace, refuel and store military ammunition to attack Ukraine. Lukashenka's regime is jointly responsible for this aggression: consequently, all EU sanctions issued against Russia must be strictly mirrored for Belarus.

The Members condemn the recent arrest and detention of trade union leaders and representatives by the Belarusian authorities, and call for their immediate and unconditional release.

The recent changes made to the Belarusian Criminal Code, introducing the death penalty for 'attempted acts of terrorism', can easily be used by the regime to silence its opponents.

The EU must strengthen its cooperation with Belarussian democratic forces, including through regular summits and robust financial aid