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Polish minority leader in Belarus sentenced to 15 days in jail

Paweł Supernak/PAP

A Belarusian court on Wednesday sentenced Andzelika Borys, leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB), to 15 days in jail for violating a law on mass gatherings.

Borys, who was re-elected to the ZPB chair on Saturday, was arrested by police in Grodno, western Belarus, on Tuesday.

During a hearing on Wednesday, Borys was charged with violating a law on mass gatherings for organising an annual fair traditionally held in the city.

The hearing took place in the prison at which Borys is being held.

ZPB wrote in a statement on Wednesday that the arrest of Borys was a ploy aimed at intimidating the Polish minority in Belarus.

On Tuesday evening, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland would intervene in the matter.

Seated in Grodno, a city with a large Polish population, ZPB is the biggest Polish diaspora organisation in Belarus. In 2005, the union was outlawed by the Belarusian authorities but has continued its activities despite the ban.

In the meantime, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcin Przydacz announced on Wednesday that Poland, along with 18 other countries, was launching the “International Accountability Platform for Belarus,” an independent NGO mechanism whose aim is to ensure accountability for serious human rights violations in Belarus.

Political demonstrations demanding President Lukashenko resign and that new, fair elections be called, have been taking place in Belarus since August 9.

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