In a resolution adopted on Thursday, MEPs expressed “utmost concern about the situation of many political prisoners... many of whom have been held incommunicado for months or years, face severe health problems... and are subjected to isolation, ill treatment and torture.”

The European lawmakers also demanded that the Belarusian authorities “immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained persons.”

They called on the EU and its member states to tighten sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for repression in Belarus.

The resolution was adopted by 549 votes in favor, 21 against and 37 abstentions.

During a debate in Strasbourg on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that since the 2020 elections in Belarus, strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime had arbitrarily detained thousands of people and that repression was continuing.

"More than 1,300 political prisoners are still held in Belarus. Many of them are held in isolation for weeks, months or even years," Borrell said.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has denied there are political prisoners in his country, even though he used the full force of his security apparatus in August 2020 to crush protests that broke out over allegations of a stolen presidential election.