The head of the European Council, on Monday, scheduled an emergency leaders’ summit for Wednesday to discuss the post-election crisis in Belarus.
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“The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader,’’ European Council President, Charles Michel, says on Twitter.
“Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed.’’
Thousands of Belarusian protesters have been arrested, with many saying they have been mistreated or even tortured while being held in custody.
Protests erupted in the Eastern European country, following an election earlier this month that delivered a disputed landslide victory to long-time President Alexander Lukashenko.
The European Union condemned the poll as neither free nor fair.
Last week, EU foreign affairs ministers agreed to begin preparing sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for police violence and election fraud.
The summit scheduled for Wednesday is to be held via video conference and is set to start at 12.00 p.m. in Brussels