EU Parliament Calls on Belarus to Stop Mistreating impriIoned Political Hopeful

The Belarusian government must stop mistreating a former presidential candidate who was imprisoned for opposing the authoritarian leader of the nation and release him as well as all other political prisoners, the European Parliament stated on Thursday.

In 2021, Viktar Babaryka was sentenced to 14 years in jail on allegations he dismissed as political retaliation for organising a campaign to unseat Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 election.

According to the European Parliament, Babaryka needed surgery after being admitted to the hospital in April with signs of beatings. According to Babaryka's supporters, the authorities have kept his condition a secret and have forbidden his lawyer from visiting him.

After the contested reelection of Lukashenko in August 2020, which the opposition and the West deemed to be rigged, Belarus was rocked by large anti-government demonstrations. Before the election, Babaryka was detained and was never given permission to run.

The primary opposition candidate for the 2020 election who was compelled to flee the country following the voting, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, congratulated the European Parliament and hailed its request for tougher penalties against the Belarusian government.

No one should go free for these atrocities, she emphasised.

In response to the protests, the Belarusian government launched a massive crackdown that resulted in more than 35,000 arrests, tens of thousands of police beatings, and the closure of numerous media outlets and civilian organisations.

According to human rights organisations, Belarus now has roughly 1,500 political prisoners. According to them, these inmates are tortured and subjected to harsh, inhuman, and humiliating treatment; some of them even pass away while they are being held.

Upon conviction of high treason, "creating an extremist group," and "hurting the national security," 35-year-old art manager Pavel Belavus was given a 13-year prison sentence, according to Visana, the top human rights organisation in Belarus.