Human rights defenders of the “Viasna” Human Rights Center already know for sure about 18 political prisoners who were released on July 3. The EU called on Lukashenko to release all political prisoners.
For security reasons, human rights defenders have not yet published the names of the remaining released. Some of the political prisoners were released on pardon, not amnesty. These are four women and 14 men, including cancer patient Ryhor Kastusyou.
Among those political prisoners who have been released early in recent days, only Kastusyou is known to have a serious health condition, Andrei Stryzhak, co-founder of the Bysol Solidarity Fund, said in his telegram channel.
“The information that the sickest and the elderly are being released does not correspond to reality and is part of state propaganda,” Stryzhak stressed.
In turn, the European External Action Service calls for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all political prisoners in Belarus.
“We are relieved to learn that they have finally been reunited with their families and loved ones,— the service said in a press release. – There are still more than 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, including prisoners who are deprived of the opportunity to communicate with outsiders indefinitely, with serious health problems, with disabilities over the age of 60, minors and people with mental illnesses.“
Some of them require urgent medical care, as their condition is life-threatening, the EU recalled.