MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2021) France slams actions of Belarusian police against journalists and human rights activists, including raids of their houses and arrests, French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Last week, law enforcement troops carried out raids targeting the Belarusian Association of Journalists, unregistered human rights center Viasna and the local union of Radio and Electronic Industry Workers. According to the national investigative committee, the searches were carried out within the framework of an inquiry to identify sources of funding for post-election rallies. Besides, a Minsk court imposed two-year prison sentence on Daria Chultsova and Ekaterina Andreeva, journalists working for the Polish Belsat broadcaster, not accredited in the country, for covering anti-government protests.
"We call on the Belarusian authorities to end it and immediately release the unjustly convicted journalists and representatives of civil society. Only the establishment of an inclusive national dialogue will make it possible to find a way out of the peaceful crisis," the ministry said in a statement.
Belarus has been plunged into a security crisis since late summer 2020 when incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko entered his sixth term as a result of the presidential election, which is believed by Western countries and the opposition to be afflicted with electoral fraud. Lukashenko's victory also prompted violent riots across Belarus, which also drew international condemnation concerning police brutality.
