18/08/2008 | Monitoring
"I would like to express my great satisfaction and relief at the liberation of Alexander Kozulin – who should never have been detained in the first place" said Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rapporteur on Belarus, Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE) today, commenting on the liberation of former presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin.
01/07/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“I am extremely preoccupied by the draft media law currently under examination by the Belarusian upper chamber of parliament” today said Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ADLE), PACE rapporteur on the situation in Belarus. “Once this legislation comes into force, it will restrict freedom of information in the country even further, especially when it comes to electronic media, and will extend the power of the authorities to interfere with media activities in a way which is contrary to European standards. What is more, even before its entry into force, the new draft law is bound to have a chilling effect of self-censorship on the media.
25/04/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Commenting on the outcome of the trials against Andrei Kim and nine other young people in Belarus who were arrested after taking part in the entrepreneurs’ demonstration of 10 January 2008, Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), PACE rapporteur on the situation in Belarus, said: ”The sentences handed down against these young political activists are harsh, unjustified, and constitute an abuse of the criminal justice system for political purposes.”
15/04/2008 | Session
PACE today called for the identities of those involved in perpetrating abuses of the criminal justice system in Belarus to be carefully recorded so that when the country one day joins the Council of Europe, justice can be done and individuals held to account. Approving a report by Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), the Assembly also called on judges, prosecutors and police officers in Belarus to show “personal courage and imagination” to mitigate the worst effects of its unjust laws.
14/04/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
In an open letter published today in the official Belarus newspaper Narodnaya Gazeta, Rapporteur on the situation in Belarus Andrea Rigoni appealed to parliamentary leaders to lead the way towards a moratorium on the death penalty in the country.
25/02/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Irina Kozulina, after a long and consuming illness against which she fought bravely," said Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), PACE Rapporteur on the Situation in Belarus, commenting the death of the wife of political prisoner Alexander Kozulin. He called on the Belarus authorities to release Mr Kozulin in time to attend his wife's funeral.
07/02/2008 | Political Affairs and Democracy
"The three capital executions which took place on Tuesday in Belarus sadly show that this country is still a long way away from European values and standards," commented Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), rapporteur of PACE's Political Affairs Committee, following the executions of Sergei Morozov, Valery Gorbaty and Igor Danchenko of the Morozov criminal gang. "It is particularly disconcerting that the same day on which a prominent political prisoner such as Artur Finkevich is released, three people are executed. The death penalty is to be condemned in all circumstances and should be completely abolished," he said.
06/02/2008 | President
PACE President Lluís Maria de Puig today expressed his profound dismay at the executions of Syarhey Marozaw, Ihar Danchanka and Valerii Gorbatii in Belarus. “The Belarusian authorities have once again chosen the course of barbarism and injustice. President Lukachenko could have commuted these sentences and thus shown a clear determination to bring Belarus closer to the Council of Europe. Instead he decided to distance his country even further from the values shared by 800 million Europeans,” the PACE President said. He added that “this atrocity has unfortunately overshadowed the good news of yesterday’s release of the political prisoner Artur Finkevich”.
24/01/2008 | Session
“I would like to express my great relief and satisfaction at the early liberation of Dimitri Dashkevich,” said Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE), rapporteur of PACE Political Affairs Committee on the situation in Belarus, commenting on Wednesday’s early release of the leader of the non-registered organisation Malady Front, who had been serving a prison sentence in Belarus.
22/01/2008 | Session
"It is essential for the Council of Europe to start thinking seriously about what it can do to promote democratic values in Belarus. I am against severing all contact with the Belarus authorities – as we have seen, that has no effect on the situation in the country, and simply makes it harder to get through to the people", declared Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE) today, as he called for the start of step-by-step dialogue, based on a policy of good neighbourly relations.
30/11/2007 | President
Following the execution of police officer Alyaksandr Syarheychyk, announced by the Supreme Court of Belarus [according to Belapan News Agency], PACE President said: “I’m appalled by this execution. Such a barbaric act took place on the very same day that I called on President Lukashenko to commute the death sentences handed down on three other persons. Belarus is the only European country executing people, and the only European State non- member of the Council of Europe. This execution shows that Minsk is not willing to move closer towards the values shared by all other European countries”, Mr van der Linden said.
28/11/2007 | President
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President René van der Linden today called on the authorities of Belarus to commute the death sentences of Syarhey Marozaw, Ihar Danchanka and Valerii Gorbatii, who were sentenced to death by shooting by the Supreme Court in 2006.