Head of EU diplomacy Catherine Ashton stands for Poczobut
As well as Poland's PM Donald Tusk.
Ashton, in particular, urged the
Belarusian authorities to stop harassment of the opposition activists and
independent media in Belarus. Ashton calls on Minsk to stop persecution and to
let the citizens realize their right for civil and journalist activity, reports BelaPAN.
Tusk stated that
Polish diplomatic services watched Poczobut's case. He expressed his regret
that Poland should put pressure on Lukashenka's regime once again due to
detentions of the opposition activists.
On June 22, Tusk
discussed Poczobut's situation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The head
of the Polish cabinet counts upon efficiency of this conversation. According to
him, Belarus used to yield under the pressure of the whole EU and its sharp
criticism in the similar cases before.
Let us remind you,
journalist of the Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" Andrzej Poczobut
was arrested at his own house in Hrodna on June 21. Another criminal case for
slander against the President was started against him. The
journalist faces up to 5 years of imprisonment.