Belarusian police arrest Polish minority leader

Andżelika Borys, leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB), has been arrested by police in Grodno, western Belarus.

Borys herself posted about the arrest on her Facebook page, it has also been confirmed by the Znadniemna.pl web portal.

Seated in Grodno, a city with a large Polish population, ZPB is the biggest Polish diaspora organisation in Belarus. In 2005, the union was outlawed by the Belarusian authorities but has continued its activities despite the ban.

Borys's arrest followed her Saturday re-election as the ZPB president.

On Tuesday evening Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland would intervene in the matter. He added that the Polish consul in Belarus was already at her place of detention.

Morawiecki also praised Borys for her work with the Polish diaspora in Belarus.

Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz wrote on Twitter that the Polish consul in Belarus was in talks with authorities in Grodno and will undertake steps to contact Borys personally.

On Tuesday evening the Onliner web portal quoted authorities in Grodno as saying that Borys had been arrested for violating mass gathering laws.