EU and US marked the fourth anniversary of mass protests in Belarus with a call for the release of all political prisoners and expressed support for the Belarusian people, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
In a statement on the occasion of the date, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stressed that "the EU remains united in its support for the brave people of Belarus, the Belarusian democratic movement and civil society in their quest for a free, sovereign and independent Belarus as part of peaceful Europe".
Protests in 2020 erupted after the opposition did not recognize the results of the presidential election, which gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term. The motive of the opposition forces was that, according to them, the vote was manipulated.
Lukashenko responded with a crackdown on the protests, in which more than 35,000 people were arrested and thousands were beaten. Many opposition figures were sentenced to long prison terms and others fled abroad.
According to estimates of the human rights organization "Vyasna" there are about 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, among whom is the founder of "Vyasna", the Nobel laureate Ales Bilyatsky.
Yesterday, the organization said that a total of 65,000 people have been arrested since the beginning of the protests.
The American Embassy in Belarus called for the immediate release of political prisoners and expressed "support for the Belarusian people and their democratic aspirations.
Lukashenko, who marked 30 years in power this month, survived the 2020 protests politically thanks to Moscow's support. It allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and authorized Moscow to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Yesterday the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions against 19 individuals and 14 entities from Belarus, "involved in supporting the Russian war in Ukraine by producing military resources and transporting goods to Russia, circumventing the sanctions regime in favor of Belarusian defense structures and generating income for Belarusian oligarchs".
Therefore, they note that this move, along with the sanctions imposed this week by the EU, Canada and Great Britain, "are a signal of the international community's continued solidarity with the Belarusian people.