On the occasion of the Belarusian Freedom Day on March 25, 52 members of parliament from four countries address the Belarusian regime and the people of Belarus in an open letter.

According to the OSCE, the Belarusian presidential elections in summer 2020 were neither free nor fair. Since then, the Belarusian people have suffered violence, arbitrariness, torture and repression by the ruling regime. This affects ordinary citizens, as well as human rights organisations and the independent media.

On the occasion of the Belarusian Freedom Day, which is celebrated on March 25, 52 members of parliament from Austria, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland wrote an open letter to the Belarusian regime and the people in Belarus. The members of parliament who signed the open letter, have taken over godparenthood for political prisoners in Belarus as part of the campaign #WeStandBYyou started by Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights. 

In the open letter, the members of parliament state that they do not recognise Alexander Lukashenka as the legitimate Belarusian president. They urge the repression in Belarus to stop. In addition, free and fair new elections should be held under international election observation by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 

Furthermore, the members of parliament urge the Belarusian regime to release all the 298 political prisoners. Libereco has also launched a petition calling for the release of all political prisoners. The petition is supported by the members of parliament who signed the open letter.

You’ll find the PDF version of the open letter here

The wording of the open letter:

March 24, 2021

Open letter to the Belarusian regime: Free all political prisoners in Belarus

As Members of Parliament from four European countries we stand firmly by the side of the people of Belarus. They have been campaigning for democracy, the rule of law, human rights, freedom and fair elections tirelessly and peacefully for months. We admire their courage, strength and stamina.

The presidential elections in August 2020 were neither free nor fair. Massive electoral fraud on a large scale can be proven without any doubt. We do not recognise Alexander Lukashenka as Belarusian president. His regime does not have any democratic legitimacy.

As Members of Parliament, we strongly condemn the actions of the Belarusian regime. We condemn the arbitrary and politically motivated arrests. We condemn the violence against supporters of the opposition and the use of torture in Belarusian prisons, which has been proven many times. We condemn the politically motivated trials against innocent people and the impunity for the perpetrators. The Belarusian regime disregards fundamental human rights and democratic values with its utterly unacceptable actions.

As Members of Parliament, we call on the Belarusian regime to immediately and unconditionally release all those imprisoned for political reasons; to immediately end violence, arbitrary arrest, torture and repression of citizens, human rights organisations and independent journalists. We urge you to allow fair and free new elections under international election monitoring by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) immediately.

As Members of Parliament, we regard it as our duty to stand for democratic values and have therefore taken over godparenthood for one or more of the current over 285 political prisoners in Belarus. We are in contact with their families and friends. We are following developments in Belarus closely and will not stop campaigning for the unconditional and immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus. They deserve our respect and our full solidarity and support.

In order to emphasise our demand for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, we support the campaign of Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights and call on others to sign it.

The Belarusian democracy movement can continue to rely on our solidarity and our advocacy for the respect of human rights in Belarus.

 

Signatories:

Andreas Schieder, European Parliament, Austria

Lukas Mandl, European Parliament, Austria

Gudrun Kugler, National Council, Austria

Helmut Brandstätter, National Council, Austria

Petra Bayr, National Council, Austria

Reinhold Lopatka, National Council, Austria

Alexander Müller, Bundestag, Germany

Cem Özdemir, Bundestag, Germany

Claudia Müller, Bundestag, Germany

Claudia Roth, Bundestag, Germany

Dirk Wiese, Bundestag, Germany

Frank Schwabe, Bundestag, Germany

Franziska Brantner, Bundestag, Germany

Gabriela Heinrich, Bundestag, Germany

Gerhard Zickenheiner, Bundestag, Germany

Johannes Schraps, Bundestag, Germany

Kai Gehring, Bundestag, Germany

Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Bundestag, Germany

Leni Breymaier, Bundestag, Germany

Lisa Badum, Bundestag, Germany

Manuel Sarrazin, Bundestag, Germany

Margarete Bause, Bundestag, Germany

Margit Stumpp, Bundestag, Germany

Oliver Luksic, Bundestag, Germany

Ottmar von Holtz, Bundestag, Germany

René Röspel, Bundestag, Germany

Rudolf Henke, Bundestag, Germany

Sabine Poschmann, Bundestag, Germany

Stefan Gelbhaar, Bundestag, Germany

Stefan Liebich, Bundestag, Germany

Sylvia Lehmann, Bundestag, Germany

Tabea Rößner, Bundestag, Germany

Thomas Heilmann, Bundestag, Germany

Delara Burkhardt, European Parliament, Germany

Erik Marquardt, European Parliament, Germany

Michael Gahler, European Parliament, Germany

Monika Hohlmeier, European Parliament, Germany

Nicola Beer, European Parliament, Germany

Niklas Nienaß, European Parliament, Germany

Sergey Lagodinsky, European Parliament, Germany

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, House of Lords, Great Britain

Tony Lloyd, House of Commons, Great Britain

Barbara Gysi, National Council, Switzerland

Benjamin Roduit, National Council, Switzerland

Cédric Wermuth, National Council, Switzerland

Céline Widmer, National Council, Switzerland

Claudia Friedl, National Council, Switzerland

Fabian Molina, National Council, Switzerland

Jon Pult, National Council, Switzerland

Martina Munz, National Council, Switzerland

Mattea Meyer, National Council, Switzerland

Tamara Funiciello, National Council, Switzerland