Strengthening the pressure on politicians who sit in prison suggests the possibility of their soon release.
This opinion was expressed in an interview with UDF.BY by the chairman of the BPF party Aleksei Yanukevich. Besides, according to him, the purpose of this pressure is intimidation and reducing the future activity of the leaders at large.
"The pressure is connected precisely with the fact that authorities are planning to release them soon (not now but in the foreseeable future). And before that to apply maximum moral and physical pressure, so right after release they won't actively involve in political struggle", the politician said.
Forcing to write an appeal for pardon, the leader of the BPF considers as another important task of this pressure.
"I think, this is one of the most important moments for the authorities. After all, previously such proposals have been repeatedly made to these political prisoners. This indirectly confirms the version, that authorities are considering their release in the near future. And, for sure, they would feel in this situation much better and more confident, if they had the written appeals", Yanukevich says.
Concerning the role of the West, by the politician's opinion, in relations with the Belarusian authorities bonuses are more effective than sanctions.
"In my opinion, sanctions are less likely to be the motive for the authorities in this regard than, let's say, some lost opportunities of obtaining financial resources. This would stimulated them much more", Yanukevich noted.
As UDF.BY wrote before, on Tuesday January 3rd Barack Obama signed the Belarus Democracy Act, which expanded the list of banned entry and called on the International Ice Hockey Federation not to hold the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus.
