Ambassador demands release of three Poles detained in Belarus

The Polish ambassador to Belarus has demanded the release of three Poles detained in that country, a deputy foreign minister in Warsaw said on Wednesday.

A woman makes a Victory sign in front of Belarus military special forces as they block a street in Minsk on Tuesday during a protest.

Photo: EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH

Thousands have been detained by Belarus authorities amid a crackdown on protesters who accuse strongman President Alexander Lukashenko of rigging his re-election victory.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński said: "Our ambassador has intervened. He has been to the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding the release of three Poles."

Jabłoński added: “We will also be checking if there is a larger group of [Polish] detainees, because the number of detainees is very large.”

The European Union has called on the Belarusian authorities "to release immediately and unconditionally all detained.”

The EU also declared that the contested Belarus presidential vote was "neither free nor fair."

Polish President Andrzej Duda has urged the UN Human Rights Council to demand that the Belarusian authorities stop using violence against peaceful demonstrators and release political prisoners.

(pk)

Source: PAP