Hillary Clinton mentions Byalyatski, Sannikau and Statkevich in Vilnius

The U.S. Secretary of State intends to meet with representatives of the Belarusian civil society.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has noted the following in her speech:

"We are discussing the future of the OSCE but we must not forget that, apart from the freedom of elections there are human rights violation issues. In Belarus, which starts 40 kilometers away from Vilnius where we are now, human rights are violated constantly, a well as freedom of the media, there are political prisoners, and persecution of human rights defenders. For example, head of the human rights center "Viasna" Ales Byalyatski was sentenced to 4,5 years of imprisonement recently. He is sentenced due to political reasons - for his human rights activity, for helping the regime's victims. There are also political prisoners - ex-presidential candidates Sannikau and Statkevich. The OSCE should not forget about these problems".

Clinton has claimed that she has an intention to meet with the represenatives of the Belarusian civil society today.

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