Belarus: Release of Aleksandr Kozulin

We welcome the release of political prisoner and former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin by the Belarus authorities. It is important that his release be made permanent and unconditional. In recent weeks, political prisoners Andrey Klimov, Aleksandr Sdvizhkov, Dmitry Dashkevich, Artur Finkevich, Nikolay Avtukhovich, and Yuriy Leonov have also been released. This represents a positive step on the part of the Belarus authorities. Should Mr. Kozulin's release be made permanent, all internationally recognized political prisoners would have been released, and we would be prepared to begin a dialogue with Belarus on further steps to improve bilateral relations.

We regret that Mr. Kozulin was not released earlier, prior to the passing of his wife, Irina Kozulina. We offer our condolences to the Kozulin family. In addition to carrying on the battle to free her husband and bring democracy to Belarus, Mrs. Kozulina used her fight against breast cancer to increase awareness of this disease in Belarusian society.