EU foreign policy chief condemns brutal handling of “silent protesters” in Belarus

Catherine Ashton “regrets the Belarusian authorities’ brutal handling on repeated occasions of the ‘silent protesters’ – ordinary Belarusian citizens who peacefully and legitimately express their discontent over the situation in the country,” the spokesperson for the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy said in a statement issued on Saturday.

According to the statement, the EU foreign policy chief “also condemns the seemingly explicit targeting by the authorities of journalists who cover these protests.”

“The High Representative urges the Government of Belarus to respect the rights of the people of Belarus, including the freedom of expression and assembly, and to release and drop all charges against those detained or sentenced. She also reiterates her call for the immediate and unconditional release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners," the statement said.

According to Belarusian human rights defenders, at least 1,830 people, including more than 1000 in Minsk, have been apprehended during so-called silent protests staged in the country since June 8 in the framework of a campaign called "Revolution through Social Networks," which is coordinated via websites.

"Silent” protesters were initially released without a charge. Later, they were mostly punished with fines and then people rounded up during silent protests were, as a rule, given jail terms of up to 15 days.