The European Union's foreign-policy chief has criticized the arrest in Belarus of members of an ethnic Polish organization, condemning police action against the group.
Catherine Ashton said in a statement she was "disappointed by the recent arrests of 40 members of the Union of Poles (UPB) and other civil-society representatives in Belarus."
Ashton said the moves against the UPB in Belarus "undermine our efforts to strengthen relations between the European Union and Belarus."
UPB campaigns for the rights of the ethnic Polish minority in Belarus.
On February 15, police arrested a large number of members of the banned group, including its leader, Angelika Borys