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Three members of Polish minority in Belarus released

02.06.2021 12:46
Three members of the Polish minority in Belarus have been released by that country's authorities and have arrived in Poland.
Photo:
Photo:gov.pl

The foreign ministry in Warsaw said on Wednesday that the three, Irena Biernacka, Maria Tiszkowska and Anna Paniszewa, were able to travel to Poland on May 25 as a result of efforts by Polish diplomatic and consular services.

"These people have been given the necessary support and appropriate help," the Polish foreign ministry said on its website.

Meanwhile, Andżelika Borys, the head of an association of Poles in Belarus, is still being held after being detained by police in Belarus in March, as is Andrzej Poczobut, a senior member of the association, who was detained in Grodno, close to the Polish border, the same month.

Polish Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in March urged the Belarusian authorities not to "harass" Poles in that country and to stop treating them as "hostages."

Morawiecki's chief of staff said the detention of Borys was "a typical example of an attempt to intimidate the Polish community" in Belarus, Poland's eastern neighbour.

The European Commission called on Belarus to free and drop all charges against leaders of the Polish ethnic minority.

The EU executive said the detained members of the Association of Poles in Belarus which Borys heads should be released immediately and unconditionally.

The association is not recognized by the Belarusian authorities but is nevertheless active, according to Poland's PAP news agency.

(pk)

Source: IAR/gov.pl