EU marks International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus

On 21 May, the European Union marked the International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners in Belarus, in memory of political prisoner Vitold Ashurak who died in the Škloŭ penal colony No. 17 on 21 May 2021. The cause and circumstances of his death have still not been investigated, EU High Representative Josep Borrell reminded in a statement.

According to the EU, since the summer of 2020, the Lukashenko regime has made over 40,000 politically motivated arrests and pursued at least 12,000 politically motivated criminal cases. There are now almost 1,500 political prisoners in Belarus.

The space for civil society has been severely restricted by the Lukashenko regime and to date over 1,283 non-governmental entities having been forced to liquidate. “This, coupled with the regime’s intensified repression has made any political debate and any expression of political opposition impossible,” says Borrell. 

The EU High Representative also reminded that the recent OSCE Moscow Mechanism report on Belarus documents that “numerous political prisoners are incarcerated in appalling conditions and exposed to ill-treatment and torture. Those with serious disabilities and life-threatening conditions are being denied proper medical assistance. On 7 May, blogger Mikalai Klimovich, suffering from a serious heart condition, died in prison. His “crime” was to have published a caricature of Lukashenko on social media.”

According to Borrell, Lukashenko also continues to subdue the country to Russia,  collaborate with Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine, and brutally persecutes Belarusians for anti-war statements and for supporting Ukraine.

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