Belarus: EU opposes sentencing representatives of independent media

The EU condemned the decisions of Minsk District Court of Belarus, which on 6 October sentenced media manager Andrei Aleksandrov to 14 years in prison, his wife Irina Zlobina to nine years, BelaPAN agency director Dmitri Novozhilov to 6 years, and BelaPAN editor-in-chief and director Irina Levshina to four years.

“These harsh verdicts are yet another proof that the Lukashenko regime is actively targeting independent media aiming to eliminate independent voices in the country, exterminate free media and deny the population in Belarus access to impartial and independent information,” says a statement by the European External Action Service. “This brutal crackdown continues and people are being detained and imprisoned in appalling conditions, condemned to long prison sentences in political trials conducted behind closed doors.”

The EU reiterated its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and urged Belarus to stop these continuing human rights violations.

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