ANDREY KLIMOV IS FIFTH POLITICAL PRISONER RELEASED

C O N F I D E N T I A L MINSK 000120 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/19/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR BO SUBJECT: ANDREY KLIMOV IS FIFTH POLITICAL PRISONER RELEASED REF: A. 07 MINSK 295 ¶B. MINSK 051 ¶C. MINSK 099 ¶D. MINSK 086 Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On February 15, the Belarusian authorities freed opposition politician and former MP Andrey Klimov from a prison in Mozyr. His early release belies suspicions that Lukashenko would wait for a response from the West before releasing additional political prisoners. Aleksandr Kozulin still doubts his release is likely, but he may turn out to be wrong. End summary. Andrey Klimov Freed 10 Months into Two-Year Sentence -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On February 15, the authorities released United Civic Party member Andrey Klimov from the Mozyr prison where he had been held. Klimov told reporters the release came as a complete surprise. He also publicly thanked the EU and the USG for pressuring Lukashenko, whom he pointedly refused to thank. Klimov had been incarcerated since his April 2007 arrest for allegedly calling for the overthrow of the government in an article posted on the UCP website (ref A). Fears that Releases Halted Allayed -------------- ¶3. (U) Many worried that a February 12 speech by Lukashenko at the Belarus State University (BSU) School of Journalism signaled a freeze on further releases of political prisoners, at least until the West offered reciprocal concessions. Lukashenko said "European bureaucrats ... made up the issues of political prisoners and human rights. But we here met them halfway.... We have turned this painful page in our relations with the West and are the first to propose moving forward. Now it is the EU's turn to demonstrate its good intentions toward the Belarusian people. In the near future we will see how they will meet us halfway." ¶4. (U) Lukashenko made similar remarks when answering journalists' questions February 15 in Vitebsk. He added that he had agreed to release former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin in order for him to escort his wife, who is dying of cancer, to Germany for "treatment." Lukashenko noted Kozulin's refusal of this offer, but closed noncommittally, stating "I don't want to get mixed up in other peoples' affairs, everything falls into place in life." ¶5. (C) UCP Chair Anatoliy Lebedko and Belarusian Party of Communists Head Sergey Kalyakin, in separate conservations, told emboffs that the United Democratic Forces Political Council debated whether to present Lukashenko an ultimatum on the release of the remaining political prisoners even before Lukashenko's speech at BSU. Malady Front's Dmitriy Dashkevich, himself recently freed, made the release of political prisoners the center of his St. Valentine's Day greeting to the Embassy. Comment: End Game Approaches -------------- ¶6. (C) At present, two political prisoners continue to serve long-term sentences in Belarus. We remain hopeful that journalist Aleksandr Sdvizhkov (ref B) will be released following his Supreme Court appeal February 22. By far the more difficult case, however, remains Aleksandr Kozulin. His daughter Irina told the press after meeting with her father February 14 that he still believes the chance that authorities will free him early is one in one thousand. However, all of the recently released political prisoners told us that the decision to free them came as completely unexpected news (ref D). Lukashenko's comments on Kozulin in Vitebsk were a cynical and reprehensible politicization of a family's tragedy. That said, the dictator himself appears conflicted. Usually bold, Lukashenko was unable or unwilling to look reporters in the eye as he made these remarks in Vitebsk. This statement could just as easily have been meant to discredit Kozulin as to close off the possibility of his release. STEWART