Czech government calls on Lukashenko to release political opponents

The Czech government has called on Belarus to release some seventy protesters who were arrested during a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko's regime on Sunday. "We call for the immediate release of all political prisoners and for the respect of human rights and democratic values in Belarus," the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Police and paratroopers on Sunday prevented up to 1,500 Lukashenko opponents from protesting in the same Minsk square where unprecedented rallies shook the former Soviet republic a year ago. The Czech Foreign Ministry said that Sunday's crack down on protesters in Minsk Square had once again confirmed the non-democratic nature of Alexander Lukashenko's regime. The Belarussian president has been in power since 1994. He was re-elected last year but international observers said the vote was rigged.