Lukashenka urged to release political prisoners before championship
Swiss-German human rights organization Libereco — Partnership for Human Rights calls for release of political prisoners in Belarus.
The World Ice Hockey Championship will start in Minsk on May 9. Nine people imprisoned for political reasons are still servicing their sentences in Belarus, the human rights defenders note: ex-presidential candidate Mikalai Stakevich, human rights defender Ales Bialiatski, civil activists Ihar Alinevich, Mikalai Dzyadok, Andrei Haidukou, Eduard Lobau, Vasil Parfyankou, Artsyom Prakapenka and Yauhen Vaskovich.
Imprisonment for political reasons is a serious violation of human rights but ‘this problem may be solved by a special amnesty’, BelaPAN quotes the human rights defenders.
German ombudsman Christopher Strasser, Bundestag members Marieluise Beck, Ute Finckh-Krämer, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, MEPs Marke Migalski, Werner Schulz and other politicians and civil activists have signed the appeal addressed to Lukashenka.
Signatures in support of Libereco’s appeal are being collected on the Internet.
Photo: ria.ru
