GENEVA (AP) — Western nations decried arbitrary arrests and other forms of repression in Belarus during a review of its record at the U.N.’s top human rights body on Monday, with the U.S. ambassador calling on authorities there to halt a “brutal crackdown.”The comments on Belarus came during a process known as the Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council, in which every country in the world has its rights record scrutinized every four or five years. Police used stun grenades and fired warning shots in the air to break up the crowds. Lukashenko won his sixth term in an Aug. 9 election that is widely seen as rigged. Lukashenko’s crushing victory over his popular, inexperienced challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has triggered the largest and the most sustained wave of mass protests of his 26 years in power. Over 15,000 people have been detained since the election, and rights activists say over 100 of them are political prisoners.

Source: Daily Sun November 02, 2020 13:18 UTC