Pavel Latushka held a meeting with PACE's special rapporteur on political prisoners

Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, member of the Coordination Council's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Pavel Latushka, held a meeting with PACE's special rapporteur on political prisoners, member of the Swedish parliament Azadeh Rojhan. During the meeting, the parties discussed the upcoming PACE report, which will reflect the situation with political prisoners in Belarus and present recommendations to the member states of the Council of Europe.

The meeting was also attended by the Secretary of PACE's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Rafał Sokał, and member of the Coordination Council, secretary of the Coordination Council's delegation to PACE, Ksenia Lutskina.

During the meeting, information was presented to the special rapporteur about the current situation with political prisoners, and a report was submitted on the release of political prisoners and the situation of former political prisoners in Belarus. Separately, the strategy of the democratic forces on this issue was presented.

Pavel Latushka informed about the unprecedented-for-Europe scale of transnational repression by Lukashenko's regime, which corresponds to the concept of a "crime against humanity."

Also during the meeting, Pavel Latushka noted that it is very important to lobby the member states of the Council of Europe to accelerate the issuance of legalization documents for deported political prisoners.

Pavel Latushka and Ksenia Lutskina raised current issues concerning the importance of assistance to released political prisoners: financial contributions to the International Humanitarian Fund, support for LIBERECO and other human rights organizations, and the annulment of the passports of former political prisoners who were deported.

During the meeting, the topic of an "artificially created humanitarian crisis" caused by Lukashenko's regime was raised, connected to the mass deportations of former political prisoners. It was also noted that released political prisoners who remain in Belarus are being pushed out of the country.

PACE's special rapporteur on political prisoners, Azadeh Rojhan, expressed during the meeting her readiness to help resolve the problematic issues raised during the meeting. She also noted that she shares the position of Belarus's democratic forces and that she sees no reason to speak of a normalization of the situation with political prisoners, since the list keeps growing and people who remain inside the country are subjected to pressure.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue cooperation, and the documents submitted during the meeting will be taken into account in the report of PACE's special rapporteur on political prisoners.

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