Czech Foreign Ministry denounces repressive practices against opponents of Lukashenko regime

The Czech Foreign Ministry has issued a statement denouncing the practices of the Lukashenko regime against political opponents.

The statement described Thursday's television appearance by the detained Belarusian opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich as forced and apparently manipulated.

"It is unbelievable that in the 21st century, the Lukashenko regime uses the same repressive methods against its opponents as those of the brutal Stalinist regime in the 1950s"  the statement says.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has called for the immediate release of Raman Pratasevich and all other political prisoners in Belarus.

The matter is expected to be high on the agenda of talks between Czech top officials and Belarussian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya during her visit to the Czech Republic next week.