In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) said they were alarmed about "the ongoing crackdown in Belarus, including the jailing of Nobel laureates and journalists," and called for further sanctions against the country.
The resolution condemned "the Belarusian regime’s continued systematic repression of the country’s people and dissenting voices, including through politically motivated and closed-door show trials," which MEPs slammed as "grave human rights violations," according to the European Parliament's website.
In their resolution, MEPs denounced the recent sentencing to long jail terms of Polish journalist Andrzej Poczobut and Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, as well as several other people.
"These convictions show the regime’s efforts to suppress all civic engagement in defence of human rights and all independent media in the country," EU lawmakers said.
The resolution also condemned "the long prison sentences handed out in absentia to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and other figures on the country’s Coordination Council, a body that has worked to facilitate a democratic transfer of power in Belarus following the fraudulent presidential elections in 2020."
MEPs on Wednesday reiterated their "strong condemnation of Belarus’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine" and urged the EU and its member states to broaden and strengthen EU sanctions against Belarus, according to the europarl.europa.eu website.
The Polish government spokesman said last week that Belarus should face far-reaching international sanctions after it sentenced Tskikhanouskaya and others to many years in prison.
Wednesday is day 385 of Russia’s war against Ukraine.