Member of European Parliament Marek Migalski initiated a joint statement on the current situation in Belarus. Plese see the text below:

We welcome the long awaited release of former presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov and his authorized representative, Coordinator of the "European Belarus" Dmitri Bondarenko.

We must, however, point out that at least 13 Belarusian political prisoners – Ihar Alienevich, Mikalai Autukhovich, Ales Bialiatski, Dzmitry Dashkevich, Mikalai Dziadok, Aliaksandr Frantskevich, Siarhei Kavalenka, Eduard Lobau, Artsiom Prakapenka, Pavel Seviarynets, Mikalai Statkevich, Pavel Syramalotau and Yauhen Vaskovich – are still being held in prisons and other places of detention. There must be an end to persecution of all Belarusian opposition politicians, civil and human rights activists.

We urge the Belarusian authorities to immediately release all political prisoners and withdraw the charges against them. We are convinced that prosecutions over the events of 19 December 2010, are not in keeping with international standards for a fair trial, and the sentences passed were politically motivated. We also call for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death sentence.

Marek Migalski, Member of European Parliament, Poland
Marieluise Beck, Member of Bundestag, Germany
Andres Herkel, Member of Riigikogu, Estonia
Lyudmila Alexeeva, Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia
Valiantsin Stefanovich, Human Rights Centre Viasna, Belarus
Lars Bünger, Libereco - Partnership for Human Rights, Germany, Switzerland
Irina Bogdanova, Free Belarus Now, United Kingdom
Natalia Koliada, Nikolai Khalezin, Free Belarus Theatre, United Kingdom
Irina Krasovskaya, Valeriya Krasovskaya, Civil Initiative “We Remember”, Netherlands
Dzmitry Barodka, European Belarus, Belarus
Nasta Palazhanka, Young Front, Belarus
Belarusian Tribunal, Netherlands
Anna Gerasimova, Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius, Lithuania
Olga Sadovskaya, Committee Against Torture, Russia
Lilia Shibanova, NGO for Democratic Rights and Liberties "GOLOS", Russia
Аndrey Kalikh, Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia
ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom
Civic Belarus, Czech Republik
Jevgeni Krishtafovitsh , MTU "Avatud Vabariik", Estonia
Mart Nutt , Estonian institute of human rights, Estonia
Sergey Ustinov, Belarus
Andrei Blinushov, Human Rights in Russia, Russia
Natalia Shcherbata, Ukrainian Women Bar Association Bazhan, Ukraine
Halyna Coynash, Kharkiv Human Rights Group, Ukraine
Intigam Aliyev, Legal Education Society also to support, Azerbaijan
Alla Tyutyunnyk, Kherson Regional Charity and Health Foundation, Ukraine
Men's Adaptation Center, Ukraine
Abdujalil Boymatov, Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, Ireland
Nadejda Atayeva, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, France