15/12/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 14 December, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service denounced the sentencing earlier that day of six prominent Belarusian political prisoners, including the husband of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, to “unfounded and harsh” prison sentences ranging from 14 to 18 years on “dubious” charges of “preparation of mass disorder” and “incitement to hatred”. “These sentences are yet more examples of unfounded charges against Belarusian citizens who have exercised their right of expression and called for free and fair elections”, he said in a statement, adding that they were “part of the ongoing brutal and systematic repression of all independent voices in Belarus”. The spokesperson reiterated the EU’s call for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all political prisoners. There are more than 920 of them in the country. (CG)