Assembly of Pro-Dem NGOs condemns mass repressions against peaceful protesters

The Belarusian Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs released a statement, condemning the mass repressions against the peaceful protesters, detained on 19 and 20 December in Minsk.

“We believe the detentions and the use of violence against journalists, a wave of searches in the apartments of opposition activists and the offices of NGOs to be deliberate actions aimed at distracting attention from the registered facts of vote rigging”, says the statement.

The Assembly expressed especial concern over the arrests of the pro-democratic election candidates and the threats of criminal prosecution used against them, as well as “the cases of refusing medical aid to the persons, whose rights were abused as a result of the groundless violence by Belarusian law-enforcement agencies.”

“Considering all this, the political campaign cannot be considered free and fair. Instead, numerous reports by independent observers denounce the official results provided by election commissions”, concludes the statement.

The Assembly calls upon the Belarusian authorities to promptly release all the protesters detained On 19 and 20 December, including the presidential candidates, their election agents and other persons.

The statement asks for professional assessment of the incidents by international observers, with especial approach to the detentions of the organizers of the nation-wide campaign of election observation.