UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) The international community should apply pressure on Belarus to stop attacking its own citizens participating in protests following the disputed presidential election, a group of experts from the UN Office Of the High Commissioner For Human Rights said in a statement on Thursday.
"UN human rights experts today strongly criticized Belarus for police violence against peaceful protesters and journalists and large scale detention following a controversial presidential election, and called on the international community to put pressure on Belarus to stop attacking its own citizens," the statement said.
The experts said they are outraged by the use of excessive, unnecessary and indiscriminate force by the police and the fact that the security forces "do not seem to seek dialogue with protesters" or allow them to exercise their right to peaceful assembly.
"The authorities only seem interested in quickly dispersing the protests and arresting as many people as possible," the experts pointed out.
According to the OHCHR, at least 6,700 people have been detained in violent demonstrations. Some 300 people have been injured, and two individuals died due to the response by the security forces.
However, the actual toll might be higher since the whereabouts of many arrested remain unknown, the experts said.
The UN experts also expressed alarm about the crackdown on journalists and internet shutdowns that "clearly has a political purpose" - to limit the right of people in Belarus to access information and communicate amid the unrest.
The protests in Belarus sparked on Sunday, after the country's long-time president, Alexander Lukashenko, was declared the winner of the recent election, securing a sixth straight term in office.
