17/02/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 17 February, the EU delegation on behalf of the Member States represented in Minsk, and the embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland called for an end to the growing harassment of Belarusian civil society by the authorities. “This has to stop. The authorities are targeting human rights defenders, media workers, trade union representatives and defence lawyers”, they denounced in a statement. In what has been described as “unacceptable”, yesterday, the homes and offices of at least thirty activists, including those of Human Rights Group Viasna and the Belarusian Association of Journalists, were searched. “We will continue to coordinate our measures to address the human rights situation in the country”, they warned, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained. (CG)