27 Apr. 2006

NATO condemns detention of Belarus opposition leader Event Schedule of events of the Informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, Sofia, Bulgaria, 27-28 April Multimedia Audio file of the Secretary General’s press conference MP3/7738Kb Speaking in Sofia on 27 April, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release the opposition leader, Alexander Milinkevich, who was reportedly jailed today. At a press conference on the first day of an informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Sofia, the Secretary General said NATO condemned the detention and called for his immediate release. According to media reports, Mr. Milinkevich has been jailed for 15 days after being convicted of attending an opposition rally that the authorities claim was unsanctioned. “The Euro-Atlantic Community cannot accept these kinds of things in the heart of Europe,” the Secretary General told reporters.