The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a resolution condemning the Belarusian regime's systematic repression against the Belarusian people and dissidents and calling for further sanctions against the country.
This was reported by the press service of the European Parliament.
Parliament strongly condemned the recent long prison sentences for journalist Andrzej Pochobut and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bilyatski, as well as several others.
These verdicts, the resolution claims, testify to the desire of the Lukashenka regime to suppress any civil activity in defense of human rights and all independent mass media in the country.
The MEPs also condemned the long prison terms handed down in absentia to the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svitlana Tykhanovskaya, and other members of the country's opposition Coordination Council.
The European Parliament once again strongly condemned the participation of Belarus in Russia's war against Ukraine. Calling the Belarusian regime complicit in Russian sponsorship of terrorism at the expense of the member state, MEPs are disappointed that Belarus was not included in the recently adopted EU 10th package of sanctions against Russia.
MEPs want tough restrictive measures against Minsk, which include, in particular, the inclusion of the potash industry on the EU sanctions list, as it is the main source of income for the Belarusian regime.
Deputies called on the EU and its member states to expand and strengthen EU sanctions against Belarus, to include all accomplices of the regime's repressions, including judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, prison and colony staff, and to ensure proper implementation of restrictive measures.
The resolution also emphasizes the need for a comprehensive investigation of the crimes committed by the Lukashenka regime against the people of Belarus, and calls on EU countries to actively apply the principle of universal jurisdiction and prepare court cases against Belarusian officials.
Parliamentarians also deplored the recent visit to Minsk by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó and condemned the International Olympic Committee for allowing Belarusian athletes to qualify for the Paris Olympics under a neutral flag, issues editor Rikard Jozwiak explains .
It will be recalled that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Sijarto, visited Minsk on February 13. It was the first visit of a European official of this level to Minsk in a very long period.
