The Party of European Socialists stands in solidarity with our observer member parties in Belarus as they face increased political suppression from the Lukashenko regime. Since 2020 the state of human rights and democracy has sharply declined in Belarus following contested elections which kept Lukashenko in power.
The state of human rights in Belarus is of grave concern to the PES. Since 2020, the Viasna Human Rights Centre has documented over 6,940 politically motivated criminal convictions. Currently, at least 219 political prisoners are at increased risk due to health issues. Of them, 78 have serious chronic conditions, 8 are people with disabilities, 32 are over 60 years old, and 10 have mental health conditions.
This includes the arbitrary imprisonment of Mikalai Statkevich, the leader ofPES observer member party Narodnaya Hramada, who will have been unlawfully incarcerated for five years on Saturday. Statkevich is a recipient of the Willy Brandt, A. Sakharov, and José Francisco Peña Gómez prizes and nominated candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. Statkevich has been subject to inhumane prison conditions following his campaigning against Russian expansion.
Over time the situation has continued to worsen in Belarus. Following the again contested re-election of Lukashenko as President in 2025, PES observer member party Hramada (BSDP) was labelled as an ‘extremist faction’ by the Belarusian government.
This is the first time in the history of Belarus that a democratic opposition party that legally existed from 1991 to 2023 has been recognised as “extremist.” In addition to this, the chairman of the BSDP Ihar Barysau, the deputy chairman of the BSDP Hanna Kanius, and a member of the BSDP Presidium Ihar Maslouski have been been labelled as ‘extremists’. As Europe’s largest progressive force, we condemn the weaponisation of labelling political opponents as extremists and support the findings of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
PES President Stefan Löfven said:
‘‘Freedom of thought is a non-negotiable civil liberty that as progressives we will always champion. Mikalai Statkevich’s courage in speaking out against autocracy is a stern reminder to us all that the freedoms we enjoy are fragile and we must protect them.
Statkevich’s imprisonment draws distinct parallels with the imprisonment of political dissident Alexei Navalny in Russia. Moreover, Belarus’ decision to support Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine by allowing the Russian army to fire missiles into Ukraine is abhorrent and facilitates crimes against humanity.
Similarly, the labelling of BSDP as an extremist faction underscores the autocracy of the Lukashenko regime, allying himself with Vladimir Putin and brutally crushing any political opposition is a stark warning of the fragility of democracy and why we must fight to uphold our fundamental values.
We hear you Belarus.’’
PES Executive Vice President Katarina Barley said:
”Today marks five years since the Lukashenko regime unlawfully imprisoned Mikalai Statkevich.
The regime has held Mikalai Statkevich in a state of incommunicado since February 2023. We know nothing about his condition. The propaganda photos in which the regime drags him and other political prisoners from their cells only aggravate our concerns. Incommunicado detentions, including that of Mikalai Statkevich, are state perpetrated cruelty and blatantly disregard human rights. We call on the Lukashenko regime to end these human rights abuses immediately.”
The PES strongly supports the Belarusian opposition both in Belarus and in exile abroad under the leadership Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in their fight for a democratic country. We stand united in our commitment to see Belarus, just like Ukraine, break free from the grip of dictators and autocrats.
