US, EU rap Belarus on rights in year-old crackdown

The United States and the European Union called on Belarus on Sunday to release and rehabilitate all political prisoners and voiced concern about deteriorating rights conditions in the year since a crackdown in the former Soviet state.

"Over the past 12 months, the Belarusian authorities have imprisoned peaceful demonstrators, suppressed non-violent protests, and worked to silence independent voices," said a joint statement by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. (Reuters)