Dozens of Nobel prize winners have urged US president Donald Trump to help release thousands of political prisoners locked up in Belarus.
The 33 Nobel laureates, including Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, called on Mr Trump to take “urgent action” to secure their freedom.
It comes as Mr Trump’s administration sided with North Korea, Belarus and Russia in refusing to condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We urge US president Donald Trump and the leaders of the European Union to take urgent measures to secure the release of all political prisoners in Belarus,” the laureates said in an open letter.
Up to 1,400 political prisoners including teachers and doctors are in Belarusian jails, according to human rights group Viasna.
Many of Belarus’ most prominent opposition figures are behind bars while others fled abroad as authorities cracked down severely on opponents as protests gripped the country in 2020.
The violent crackdown followed an election that the opposition and Western governments said Alexander Lukashenko had heavily rigged.
Since then, more than 35,000 people have been arrested, with allegations of beatings in custody, while dozens of independent news organisations and rights groups have been shut down.
“Europe has not faced a humanitarian catastrophe of such scale caused by political repression since the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century,” the letter read.
“More than 300,000 people have been forced to leave the country, and thousands have become victims of torture and ill-treatment.
“The international community cannot remain indifferent when thousands of innocent people are suffering from political repression.”
The 33 signatories include literature prize winners Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus and peace prize winners Jose Ramos-Horta, Jody Williams, Dmitry Muratov and Oleksandra Matviichuk.
“The fates of thousands of people depend on the decisive and coordinated actions of the international community,” the letter read.
