World HR defenders outraged with pressure on Belarusian political prisoners
The FIDH and its Belarusian member organization, Human Rights Center Viasna, have made a statement.
They are "outraged at the large-scale and systematic acts of repression being inflicted upon both political prisoners and individuals whose freedom has been restricted for political reasons". The FIDH human rights defenders consider that there are 11 political prisoners and 40 citizens of Belarus whose freedom is considerably limited as result of politically motivated harassment in Belarus. Among the latter they call Pavel Vinahradau and Vasil Parfyankou.
"Although Belarusian Deputy Prosecutor General Aliaksei Stuk stated at
a press conference on 14 February 2013 that the detention conditions of those
identified by us as political prisoners in Belarusian prisons and penal
colonies are the same as for any other prisoner. This statement is starkly
contradicted by evidence obtained by our organizations, - say the HR
defenders.
The FIDH demands from the authorities of our country "to free all arbitrarily detained persons, review all cases involving a clear political component, and remove all restrictions on the rights of persons released following politically motivated prosecution."
