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Markus Loning: EU’s first demand is to release political prisoners

The main demand of the European Union is to release all political prisoners and drop all charges against them, Markus Loning, the German federal government’s commissioner for human rights policy and humanitarian aid, told reporters in Minsk on Saturday at the end of his two-day visit to Belarus.

“This is not a condition the fulfillment of which could be of some benefit to the regime,” Mr. Loning stressed. “This is a pure demand, as there should be no country at the center of Europe where people don’t have the right to express their opinion.”

According to Mr. Loning, Europe is concerned that those detained over the December 19 post-election protest do not have access to legal counsel and nothing is known about their health condition.

Mr. Loning expressed his “deep disappointment” at the conduct of the December 14-19 presidential election, the ballot-counting process and the violence against peaceful post-election protesters.

While staying in Minsk on January 14 and 15, Mr. Loning met with officials of the Belarusian foreign ministry, representatives of civil society, and relatives of detained opponents of the regime.

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