Responding to the detention on Tuesday evening of 16 independent trade union leaders, at least seven of whom are being held incommunicado in an unknown location
Responding to the detention on Tuesday evening of 16 independent trade union leaders, at least seven of whom are being held incommunicado in an unknown location, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“The Belarusian authorities must immediately disclose the whereabouts of seven trade union leaders who were detained on Tuesday evening. Unless there is genuine evidence that they have committed internationally recognizable crimes, they must be immediately and unconditionally released. It is high time that the authorities end their crackdown on peaceful dissent.
“By detaining these trade union leaders, the Belarusian authorities continue their strategy of reducing the nation’s civil society to ashes. The independent trade unions have already been targeted during the state’s brutal crackdown on the protest movement that erupted following the disputed 2020 presidential election. Civic activism and defense of workers’ rights should be welcomed, not criminalized.”
Responding to the detention on Tuesday evening of 16 independent trade union leaders, at least seven of whom are being held incommunicado in an unknown location, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:
“The Belarusian authorities must immediately disclose the whereabouts of seven trade union leaders who were detained on Tuesday evening. Unless there is genuine evidence that they have committed internationally recognizable crimes, they must be immediately and unconditionally released. It is high time that the authorities end their crackdown on peaceful dissent.
“By detaining these trade union leaders, the Belarusian authorities continue their strategy of reducing the nation’s civil society to ashes. The independent trade unions have already been targeted during the state’s brutal crackdown on the protest movement that erupted following the disputed 2020 presidential election. Civic activism and defense of workers’ rights should be welcomed, not criminalized.”
