The European Parliament Held A Debate On Belarus With The Participation Of Ales Beliatski

• 12.11.2026, 23:48

At the meeting, the issue of referring Lukashenko's case to the International Criminal Court was raised.

The European Parliament held a debate on Belarus featuring human rights activist and Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski, according to “Rady Racyja”.

“There are no easy solutions to complex situations,” — said Ales Bialiatski, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and chairman of the “Viasna” Human Rights Center, today at a meeting of the European Parliament’s delegation on Belarus in Brussels.

The human rights activist and former political prisoner emphasized the importance of releasing political prisoners; however, any negotiations and the lifting of sanctions should only begin after systemic changes in Belarus. Ales Beliatski stated:

“I was released along with hundreds of other political prisoners as a result of what amounted to a trade—we were exchanged for potash fertilizers. I was released, my lawyer was imprisoned in my place, another person was imprisoned, and Ales was replaced by Dmitry. So what? The essence of the regime has not changed.

The European Parliament honored the memory of Roman Bondarenko with a minute of silence.

“The human rights situation remains catastrophic,” said Malgorzata Gosiewska, chair of the European Parliament’s delegation on Belarus, as she opened the delegation’s meeting today.

Earlier, she noted that today marks the anniversary of Roman Bondarenko’s tragic death:

— Roman Bondarenko’s death has become a symbol of the brutality of Lukashenko’s repression in Belarus and of the courage of those who stood up for freedom, dignity, and democracy.

Among the topics discussed were the human rights situation, support for civil society and the Belarusian diaspora, the prospects for referring the case of Alexander Lukashenko to the International Criminal Court, as well as issues of regional security against the backdrop of Russia’s hybrid military operations.