30/10/2024 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
On the occasion of the International Day of Political Prisoners, PACE General Rapporteur for political prisoners, Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC), made the following statement:
“Imprisoning people for expressing themselves is a lethal weapon against democracy. Criminalising dissent is one of the most effective measures to drain the life out of any democratic society. Creating an atmosphere of fear, repression and persecution of any opposition is the usual precondition for totalitarian rule.
Former political prisoner and my friend Vladimir Kara-Murza often said that the prisoner’s worst nightmare is the thought of being forgotten. While we celebrate the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evan Gershkovich, Oleg Orlov and other recently exchanged Russian political prisoners, we cannot forget almost 1,400 others jailed in Russia for opposing the aggression against Ukraine or challenging the Putin regime, as well as thousands of Ukrainian civilian captives. The courage of those who continue to speak out against tyranny, often at tremendous personal risk, deserves our unwavering support.
A totalitarian system run by a dictator who refuses to recognise the democratic choice of his nation imprisons another 1,300 Belarusians. Many of them, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Maria Kalesnikava, are held incommunicado in an attempt to inflict even greater suffering on their families. I reiterate the Assembly’s call on our member and observers States to pursue prisoner exchanges in order to obtain the release of political prisoners in the Russian Federation and Belarus who have opposed the war of aggression against Ukraine.
Sadly, the issue of political prisoners is not limited to Russia and Belarus. We are seeing a growing number of reported political prisoners in Türkiye and Azerbaijan. In Türkiye, among many others, Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş remain imprisoned, even though the European Court of Human Rights ordered their release. Those who campaign for their release face criminal charges themselves, as is the case of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. In Azerbaijan, amid shrinking space for civil society, independent journalists, activists and human rights defenders, including Anar Mammadli – the 2014 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize winner – face politically motivated charges for carrying out their work.
As Europeans, we must ensure that our collective actions reflect the values we champion. It is a matter of our moral duty to ensure that there is zero tolerance for politically motivated prosecutions. Coordinated efforts, such as targeted sanctions under “Magnitsky laws” imposed on human rights’ violators, are a powerful tool in ensuring that abuses do not go unpunished and should be applied more often, especially when other measures prove ineffective. Returning freedom to those unjustly deprived of it should remain our priority.”