Libereco, a Swiss-German human rights organisation, called on Lukashenka to grant amnesty to the Belarusian political prisoners on the occasion of the Ice Hockey World Championship, The statement on Libereco’s website reads that nine people remain under arrest for political reasons in Belarus. They are former presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich, Ales Bialiatski, activists Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Dziadok, Andrei Haidukou, Eudard Lobau, Vasili Parfiankou, Artsiom Prakapenka and Yauhen Vaskovich.
Interesting to note that the appeal to Lukashenka was signed by Christoph Strässer, the German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy; members of the German Bundestag and the European Parliament and other politicians and public figures.
Lukashenka submitted an amnesty bill timed to the 70th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from the Nazi invaders to the parliament on April 21. About 2,730 people are to be released unconditionally and some 5,500 convicts will have their prison term reduced by one year. It is unknown whether the political prisoners will be included in the amnesty. Lukashenka said to journalists on March 23 that the political prisoners wouldn’t be freed without applying for a pardon.
“I don’t want to repeat, but if I have a petition [for a pardon], I will sign it. No petitions – neither the world championship, nor the 70th anniversary of the victory, nothing will help. This is my principled approach. It’s not only mine. We are a state, we are a country. One should not make us bow and treat us using double or triple standards. It’s not my signature that can decide everything,” Lukashenka said.
May 12, 2014 at 17:29
[…] Human rights defender Martin Uggla, who had been deported from Belarus earlier, wrote on Facebook: “Another Swedish human rights activist from Östgruppen – Paulina Kluge – was detained at the airport in Minsk on May 9. She was waiting for the deportation. My case was being discussed at the highest level (Fasel and Lukashenka) at that time. They began to discuss both issues. As a result, Paulina was allowed to enter the country! They said it was a ‘technical error’. As for my status, there’s no new information so far”. https://thoolen.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/human-rights-defenders-call-for-release-political-prisoners-… […]