Ernst-Dziedzic: More support for human rights activists in the fight for freedom of expression and democracy in Belarus

Greens: Conviction of Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize winner in politically motivated proceedings illustrates the dramatic human rights situation in Belarus

Vienna (OTS) – „The human rights situation in Belarus is getting worse every day. Every time we think we’ve hit another bottom, it gets worse. All activists who could become dangerous to the dictator Alexander Lukashenko are silenced. There are currently more than 1,400 political prisoners in custody,” says the foreign and human rights policy spokeswoman for the Greens, Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic, and calls for their immediate release as well as concrete measures by the EU and the international community to support civil society activists.

Ales Byalyatski, who was symbolically awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 – together with other human rights activists from Ukraine and Russia – was sentenced to ten years in prison in Belarus on Friday. As a co-founder of the human rights organization “Vyazna”, he helped document the actions of the Belarusian authorities against human rights activists. His sentence of ten years in prison for financial offenses is considered politically motivated.

Recently, the UN special rapporteur for Belarus, Anaïs Marin, came to the conclusion that the already poor human rights situation in Belarus „dramatically deteriorated”. Together with the UN human rights office in Geneva, the special rapporteur will present a report in March on the protests in connection with the controversial presidential elections three years ago, which were violently suppressed by President Lukashenko.

Against the background of the tense human rights situation in Belarus, Ernst-Dziedzic sharply criticizes the partnership between China and Belarus, which was only reaffirmed on Monday: “It is unbelievable: while human rights activists vegetate in prisons, China’s President Xi Jinping emphasizes that the friendship between China and Belarus are inseparable, both sides should strengthen mutual political trust and remain true friends and good partners to each other.”

In addition, the foreign and human rights policy spokeswoman for the Greens in connection with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine continues to call for the EU to consistently coordinate sanctions not only against Russia but also against its Belarusian allies: “Both the Russian and the Belarusian regimes are internationally proscribed and must be weakened. Any circumvention of the sanctions by Belarus and thus support for the Russian aggressor must be prevented,” said Ernst-Dziedzic.