OREANDA-NEWS. The authorities of Belarus should immediately release the presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka and his son detained on June 18. This is stated in a message by Peter Stano, a spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy of the European Union.

“The EU calls on Belarusian authorities to immediately release them from pre-trial detention and to guarantee full respect of the rule of law, including a fair and transparent investigation and the right to have access to a lawyer. Any investigation must be impartial and without political pressure,” the statement reads.

In addition, Brussels demanded that Minsk ensure competitive presidential elections, allow all candidates to go through the registration process, and release previously detained participants in peaceful protests.

The European Union spokesman expects from Belarus an invitation representatives of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (one of the structures of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) as observers in the upcoming presidential election.