Polish president asks Council of Europe to prioritize free Belarus

May 18, BPN. Andrzej Duda has urged the the Council of Europe to make the accession of a free Belarus to the “European family” one of its strategic priorities, the Polish president’s official website reported yesterday.

He also called Europe’s largest human rights organization to step up pressure on the authoritarian regime of Alaksandr Łukašenka.

Duda spoke at the CoE summit in Iceland, where he also expressed support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression. He said he was confident that the war in Ukraine would end with the victory of the free world and open a new chapter for the council.

Duda called for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, including journalist Andrzej Poczobut (Andrej Pačobut) and human rights activist Aleś Bialacki, who won the Nobel Peace Prize. Two months ago, Belarusians in Warsaw asked Duda to compile a list of top-priority Belarusian prisoners.