UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Michele Bachelet Friday condemned ongoing human rights violations in Belarus and called on the government of that country to release imprisoned protestors.

Mass protests erupted in August after President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner for a sixth term in a disputed election. Since then, police have cracked down on largely peaceful demonstrations, using stun grenades, tear gas and truncheons.  Thousands of people have been detained, ill-treated and tortured according to human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. But protests have  continued. The United States and European Union have introduced sanctions against Belarusian officials accused of involvement in vote-rigging and the post-election crackdown.

Bachelet told the Council that more than 900 people including opposition candidates, lawyers, journalists and activists are believed to be facing criminal charges in connection with the mass protests. She also pointed out the disproportionate and violent force police have used to disperse crowds.

She called on the Belarusian government to, “Ensure that prompt, thorough, independent, transparent and impartial investigations are conducted into all allegations of torture and other human rights violations, including the deaths of at least  four persons in the context of the protests; to hold  perpetrators to account; and to provide justice truth and reparations to victims and their families.”