Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support press freedom in Belarus following the recent imprisonment of journalists in that country.

On 11 October, I [Minister Docherty] publicly condemned the harsh verdicts for those associated with independent news agency BelaPAN. We have been clear that nobody should be punished for honest and independent reporting. The UK Government has repeatedly called on Belarus to unconditionally and immediately release journalists who have been arbitrarily detained, and to hold to account those responsible for attacks on journalists. We raise our concerns publicly, through international fora, and in our bilateral discussions with the Belarusian authorities. We have been clear that continuing this repressive activity will only deepen the pariah status of the Lukashenko regime.