Riga summit: Human rights defenders urge to release all political prisoners

The participants of the Civil Society Forum held in Riga as part of the Eastern Partnership summit have demanded to release all political prisoners in the EaP member states without delay, euroradio.fm reports.

Ales Bialiatski read out the resolution text.

“The participants of the II Civil Society Forum are urging to release all political prisoners in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus without delay. The governments of these states should admit that the existence of political prisoners does not correspond to their commitments in the Eastern Partnership. Political prisoners must be released, the persecution of NGOs should stop and human rights must be respected.”

The appeal will be presented to the leaders of the EaP and EU members states.

The Eastern Partnership summit will be held in Riga on May 21 and 22.