Check against delivery!  

Madam President, Honourable Members of the European Parliament, 

Mikalai Statkevich, a veteran opposition leader, is one of the nearly 1,500 political prisoners currently detained by [the] Belarus regime.  

Regrettably, like many high-profile prisoners, he has been kept incommunicado. His family has not heard from him for the past 10 months. He is believed to be held in penal colony 13, one of the harshest ones, with no access to his lawyers, or medical assistance either. 

Mr Statkevich has spent 10 cumulative years in prison. After being arrested in 2020, he was sentenced to another 14 years. Even while in prison, Mikalai Statkevich remains a symbol of courage and resilience for Belarusians.  

The situation of Mikalai Statkevich and all political prisoners in Belarus remains one of the greatest concerns for the European Union. Since the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus in 2020, we have seen a steady deterioration of the human rights situation in the country, including torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners in detention, as well as persecution of Belarusians in the country and in exile.   

The European Union has repeatedly called on the Lukashenko regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners. The European Union has also introduced seven rounds of sanctions on Belarus, including restrictive measures against the perpetrators, judges, prosecutors, heads of penal colonies and members of [the] regime’s security services.  

We are mobilising all tools to address the situation of political prisoners in Belarus. The EU Delegation in Minsk regularly requests information from the Belarusian authorities on the conditions of prominent political prisoners kept incommunicado, as well as access to visit them, including Mikalai Statkevich.  

Together with the EU Delegation, our Member States that are present in Minsk continue to show solidarity with political prisoners, notably by standing in front of courts during their trials. 

The EU will continue to lead efforts to bring to justice those responsible for human rights violations in Belarus, through the International Accountability Platform and in other international fora.  

On 29 November, High Representative Borrell issued a statement condemning the recent attacks on representatives of Belarusian democratic forces and their families, yet another deplorable example of the ongoing repressions and misuse of power by Lukashenko and his regime. 

The Belarusian people have shown exceptional courage and dignity in these difficult times. The EU stands with them in their quest for democracy and independence, and will continue to do so for as long as it takes.  

Thank you. 

Link to the video (starting from 17:00): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-250520