Brussels, 03/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - The EU has expressed its deep concern about the arrest of one of the candidates of the Belarusian opposition, Alexander Kozulin and several of his supporters, during the presidential elections of 19 March. The Presidency expects Belarus to respect its commitments and responsibilities, as a member of the OSCE, and “assure a free, transparent and fair election process, safeguarding in particular the right of assembly and the freedom of expression”. Personal security of candidates before and after elections must also be ensured, the Austrian Presidency says in its declaration published on 2 March. Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner (external relations) also reacted on Thursday in a press release calling for the immediate release of Mr Kozulin (wo was effectively released on Thursday evening). The OSCE progress report of 1 March on the electoral campaign notes a number of violations of democratic principles such as “the detention of campaign activists, searches of campaign offices, confiscation of campaign materials and interruption of campaign meetings”, Ms Ferrero-Waldner points out. The EU is ready to take “further appropriate restrictive measures against the responsible individuals if the elections are not conducted in a democratic manner”, she added.