Brussels, 29 January 2021 - "Almost six months have passed since the fraudulent presidential election in Belarus. Despite the international community's repeated calls for dialogue, the regime's blind, ruthless repression against critical voices shows no sign of abating: we deplore a record-high 33,000 arbitrary arrests and detentions, including hundreds of political prisoners, as well as at least eight protests-related deaths so far. We are alarmed by the ramped-up crackdown on civil society, the new wave of criminal trials of peaceful protesters on far-fetched grounds and the incarceration of human rights activists who helped detainees pay their fines.
We are also deeply worried by the video recording, leaked by defectors from the state security apparatus, in which a Deputy Interior Minister of Belarus allegedly advocates the use of lethal weapons against peaceful protesters and mentions plans to build an internment camp with barbed wires for political dissidents. If the authenticity of said recording is established and if the Belarusian Interior Ministry intends to go down that abject road indeed, this would mark yet another milestone in the continued worsening of the human rights situation and the collapse of the rule of law in this country. [...]
We are also deeply worried by the video recording, leaked by defectors from the state security apparatus, in which a Deputy Interior Minister of Belarus allegedly advocates the use of lethal weapons against peaceful protesters and mentions plans to build an internment camp with barbed wires for political dissidents. If the authenticity of said recording is established and if the Belarusian Interior Ministry intends to go down that abject road indeed, this would mark yet another milestone in the continued worsening of the human rights situation and the collapse of the rule of law in this country. [...]
Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP