Israeli envoy: Belarusan political prisoners are criminals

Josef Shagal, Israel's Ambassador to Belarus, believes that Belarusan prisoners are criminals.

“Officially, at the moment there are four persons who are considered to be political prisoners. Four persons are in prison. Lukashenka suggests they should ask for pardon, as Khodorkovsky did. File a petition and you will be released. But they don't want. They prefer to remain heroes in prison,” quotes Belsat Joseph Shagal’s words in his interview to Israeli channel RTVI.

Answering the question about the position of Israel as the only democratic country in the Middle East on the issue of political prisoners in Belarus, Shagal said that they “are serving their terms as convicted under a criminal article, not a political one. All of them. For attacking the parliament and throwing stones.”

However, he also added that he isn’t denying they are not political prisoners: “It depends on the light we view them. In accordance with their country's criminal code, they are criminals. From the point of view of Poland or the EU, they are political prisoners”.

The Israeli ambassador also blasted the EU's sanctions imposed on Belarus: “It is Poland that initiated the pressure on Belarus. But it has $ 5bn sales turnover with Belarus! On the one hand, they say 'they violate human rights, he is a dictator', but on the other hand, they have $5 bn turnover”.

According to Euroradio, prominent documentary film director Yury Khashchevatski called to boycott the Israeli ambassador. Answering  how Shagal could be boycotted by someone who is not usually invited to diplomatic receptions, Khashchevatski said that “this is a complex question, but I think when someone understands how Joseph Shagal is, he or she will realize that standing next to this person is inappropriate, that would already be enough. Moral condemnation means a lot."