Azernews.Az

European Union leaders demanded the immediate release and rehabilitation of Belarus political prisoners in a joint statement issued Friday at the close of a summit with ex-Soviet states in Warsaw, eubusiness.com reported.

Expressing "deep concern" at the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, the 27 EU leaders "call for the immediate release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners", the statement said.

Though issued at the Eastern Partnership summit also attended by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the statement was published on behalf of the EU-27 alone.

In it, the bloc also noted its concern over reports that prisoners are being denied access to lawyers and their relatives as well as to medical care "while being put under psychological and physical pressure."

Belarus, whose authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko is under mounting pressure for throwing hundreds of opponents behind bars, boycotted the summit.

The chair of the Belarus delegation at the summit table stood empty after EU leaders attending the talks warned the door would be closed on new trade and aid deals until Lukashenko ended his heavy-handed crackdown against regime dissidents.

The EU statement stressed that the bloc remained committed to deeper ties with Belarus "while reaffirming its policy of critical engagement."

"Such a deepening is conditional on progress towards respect by the Belarussian authorities for democracy, the rule of law and human rights."