On Monday 26 March, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) described the response of Belarusian authorities before the start of an unauthorised rally the previous day to mark Freedom Day as "disproportionate".
"While the authorisation of the celebratory event was appreciated, a requested rally was not allowed and the response of the Belarusian authorities was disproportionate", the EEAS spokesperson said in a press release.
"Democratic principles and fundamental...