Minister for Europe condemns Belarus election violence
After the Belarus elections the United Kingdom calls on the Government of Belarus to apply the rule of law impartially and effectively.
Minister for Europe David Lidington said:
The United Kingdom strongly condemns all violence surrounding yesterday’s Presidential Election in Belarus. We are gravely concerned that the authorities appear to have used excessive force against demonstrators at a rally in Minsk on 19 December.
I am shocked and horrified at the beatings, arrests and detention of presidential candidates, journalists, civil society activists and other individuals. Many of these people have been detained in unknown locations. I am particularly concerned at the fate of Vladimir Neklyaev whose whereabouts and condition are at present unknown.
The United Kingdom calls on the Government of Belarus to apply the rule of law impartially and effectively, to inform the public of the location of those detained and to refrain from further acts of intimidation and violence.