Authorities not sincere about political emigrants’ return – political prisoners’ families

February 13, BPN. The authorities’ campaign encouraging the return of political emigrants cannot be trusted amid “unprecedented pressure on political prisoners” and a crackdown on freedom of expression in Belarus, said the Association of Relatives and Former Political Prisoners.

The statement follows Alaksandr Łukašenka’s February 6 edict setting out conditions for the return of political emigrants.

The association noted that their relatives and colleagues are deprived of correspondence, adequate medical care, meetings with lawyers and visits, and are subjected to “exorbitant punishment, torture, tough detention conditions and extended prison terms.”

“We will welcome attempts by the government to ease tension in society, but these must be genuine steps towards reconciliation rather than just an imitation,” the statement reads.

At the very least, authorities should stop abuse in prisons and improve detention conditions, it noted. An end to politically-motivated arrests and trials can be considered evidence of the authorities’ willingness to engage in dialogue, it stressed.

Belarusian society expects an end to the crackdown and the release of all political prisoners, the association said.

The association was set up in January and called on the international community for “more decisive actions” to free their loved ones.