{"id":178411,"date":"2026-03-06T19:54:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T16:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/178411\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"oppositions-social-policy-chief-urges-eu-to-take-stance-on-forced-expulsions","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/178411\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition\u2019s social policy chief urges EU to take stance on forced expulsions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 6, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Volha Zazulinskaja, the opposition\u2019s social policy chief, has criticized what authorities call \u201cpardons\u201d for political prisoners followed by forced expulsion from Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a meeting of the EU\u2013Belarus Consultative Group in Brussels on March 6, she said that 175 of around 200 prisoners \u201cpardoned\u201d in 2025 were expelled from the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s regime creates \u201clocal humanitarian crises by shifting onto others the responsibility for people it persecuted,\u201d she said. \u201cThe released prisoners find themselves abroad, often in winter, without IDs or social guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not an act of humanism but just another form of repression,\u201d she said. \u201cIf the international response is limited to gratitude for such \u2018releases,\u2019 this practice will take root and become the norm. The prison-plus-deportation scheme is unacceptable and must be stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that Belarus\u2019 secret services have been trying to recruit released and expelled prisoners, harassing their relatives in Belarus and labeling the \u201cpardoned\u201d individuals as extremists and terrorists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 72 percent of expelled prisoners showed symptoms of depression, 21 percent showed symptoms of severe depression, and 38 percent complained of physical health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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