Catherine Ashton and Donald Tusk spoke in defense of Pochobut

Tusk discussed the situation with a journalist with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Ashton, in particular, urged the Belarusian authorities to stop harassment of the opposition activists and independent media in Belarus. Ashton calls on Minsk to stop persecution and to let the citizens realize their right for civil and journalist activity, reports BelaPAN.

Tusk stated that Polish diplomatic services watched Poczobut's case. He expressed his regret that Poland should put pressure on Lukashenka's regime once again due to detentions of the opposition activists.

On June 22, Tusk discussed Poczobut's situation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The head of the Polish cabinet counts upon efficiency of this conversation. According to him, Belarus used to yield under the pressure of the whole EU and its sharp criticism in the similar cases before.

Journalist of the Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" Andrzej Poczobut was arrested at his own house in Hrodna on June 21. Another criminal case for slander against the President was started against him. The journalist faces up to 5 years of imprisonment.