Libereco offers to sign petition to amnesty political prisoners in Belarus
On the eve of the Ice Hockey World Championship, the human rights organization “Libereco - Partnership for Human Rights” calls on President Lukashenka to release all political prisoners and to host the Championship without human rights violations.
The petition for a special amnesty for political prisoners in Belarus has been posted on the website change.org.
From 9th till 25th May 2014 the Ice Hockey World Championship will take place in Belarus. The 9th of May, the opening day of the championship, will also mark the 69th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Day of Victory.
On the occasion of the beginning of these World Championships on 9 May, concurrently the Day of Victory, we respectfully ask you to decree a special amnesty under which Ihar Alinevich, Ales Bialiatski, Mikalai Dziadok, Andrei Haidukou, Eduard Lobau, Vasil Parfiankou, Artsiom Prakapenka, Mikalai Statkevich and Yauhen Vaskovich will be released.
According to information from Belarusian and international human rights organisations, the above-mentioned people are all political prisoners, whose imprisonment is a serious violation of human rights. According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Belarus is obligated to guarantee these rights, having already signed up to the covenant,” say the defenders of Libereco.
Libereco’s website also offers banners that can be used to spread information on the petition.
