Amendments tabled by the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) to a joint European Parliament resolution on Belarus would sharpen the text's focus on a specific legal mechanism of repression: the systematic misuse of Article 411 of the Belarusian Criminal Code. The amendments, introduced by MEPs Małgorzata Gosiewska and Mariusz Kamiński on behalf of the ECR, add a new recital and a new operative paragraph that explicitly name and condemn this provision, which they argue is used to arbitrarily extend the sentences of political prisoners through fabricated disciplinary violations, creating a system of indefinite detention and coercion. The amendments are still to be examined and voted on by the Parliament and do not yet represent the institution's position.
The proposed changes target what the ECR describes as a gap in the original joint motion for a resolution, which was co-authored by the PPE, S&D, ECR, Renew, Verts/ALE, and The Left groups. The original text, tabled as a response to the deteriorating situation of political prisoners in Belarus—in particular the case of Aliaksandra Pulinovich—did not explicitly condemn Article 411. The ECR amendments would add a new recital (Ca.) identifying Article 411 as a tool for systematically extending the imprisonment of political prisoners based on fabricated disciplinary violations, describing it as a mechanism of indefinite detention and coercion. A new operative paragraph (3a.) would condemn the systematic misuse of Article 411 as a tool for political persecution and arbitrary sentence extension, call for its immediate repeal, demand the release and full legal rehabilitation of all persons convicted under this provision, and express deep concern for the approximately 50 political prisoners currently affected by this mechanism.
The amendments represent a significant substantive addition to the resolution, moving from a general condemnation of the situation of political prisoners to a targeted critique of a specific legal instrument used to perpetuate their detention. The ECR notes that over 80 political prisoners have been convicted under Article 411. The joint resolution, once amended, will be put to a plenary vote; if adopted, it would become the European Parliament's official position on the matter. The Council and the European External Action Service are expected to take note of the Parliament's stance in their ongoing diplomatic and restrictive measures against the Belarusian regime.
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