EU recognizes only 6 out of 11 political prisoners in Belarus

The European Union recognizes only 6 Belarusian inmates as political prisoners. The figure, mentioned today at an informal meeting between human rights defenders and the ambassador of a European Union member state, came as a surprise, says Valiatsin Stefanovich from human rights center "Viasna".

Valiantsin Stefanovich: “No one has ever announced any precise numbers. When we took part in various meetings and asked to share our stance, we voiced our position by saying: "We recognize 11 people as political prisoners." Now that we have learned about 6 people, it is new information for us."

However, it has been known for some time already that Belarusian human rights defenders and Europeans have different approaches as to who should be considered as a political prisoners. The same applies to the number of political prisoners. But Stefanovich says the news that 6 people are recognized by the EU as political prisoners does not change their position that all should be freed by the Belarusian authorities.

However, human rights defenders do not have precise information about the names of those six political prisoners. One can only guess, says Aleh Hulak from Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The human rights defenders are not aware of the principles used by the European Union to identify political prisoners.

Aleh Hulak: “They should be consistent. I find it difficult to understand before hearing explanations why they differentiate between political prisoners. Why have they recognized only 6 people as political prisoners?”

It is also yet to be known what European Union's agency took the decision to recognize only six political prisoners in Belarus. Stefanovich and Hulak assume the decision was taken by the EU Council of Ministers. They will continue to insist that there are 11 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, but they lack leverage.

The release of political prisoners is known to be the main condition of the EU for the Belarusian authorities. Without this, there is no chance to improve relations. But to have this chance, it is sufficient to release 6 - not 11 as demanded by human rights defenders - political prisoners. "Hypothetically," stress Hulak and Stefanovich.

To turn the hypothetic situation into reality, their colleague and former MP Ludmila Hraznova suggests that political prisoners write... a clemency appeal!

Ludmila Hraznova: “We can use the experience of Russia where Khodorkovsky was released after writing a clemency appeal without pleading himself guilty. That move resolved a wholy knot problems and allowed to keep the face for every party: the authorities and civil society.”

Hraznova is confident such a move will allow Belarus to begin drifting towards Europe and most importantly away from emperial Russia. But who can convince to write a clemency appeal someone who decided long ago not to do so, e.g. Mikalai Statkevich?

Ludmila Hraznova: “He is not living in some kind of corner without any information! The information that he reaches him should have the following message: Your personal fate is of course very important, but the fate of the country is far more important!”

She reckons that releatives and journalists should try to convince political prisoners to write clemency appeals.

All other rights defenders are totally opposed to this approach. “Everyone takes his own decision: someone wrote a clemency appeal and were released. Someone tookd a differnet decision. It would be amoral to demand that they change their mind," Aleh Hulak shares a common stance on behalf of other human rights defenders. He also reminded that when there was a political need, the authorities released political prisoners without any appeals in 2008 and 2011.

Photo: Zmicier Lukashuk,  http://bymedia.net/