EU warns of possible action against Belarus

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday decried Belarus' presidential election as "neither free nor fair".

In a tweet, Borrell said the EU would be reviewing its relations with Minsk amid a police crackdown on protests following Sunday's vote which returned longtime President Alexander Lukashenko with an overwhelming majority.

He called on Belarusian authorities to stop the "unacceptable" violence, and restrictions on "freedoms of assembly, media and expression".

Anti-government demonstrators still turned out on Tuesday for a third straight night to protest the vote results which Lukashenko winning a sixth term with a landslide 80% of the vote.

On Monday, a protester died amid clashes in Minsk and scores were injured as police used tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets to disperse them.

Belarus’ health officials said over 200 people have been hospitalized with injuries following the protests, and some underwent surgery.

The authoritarian Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist since 1994, has derided the opposition as “sheep” manipulated by foreign masters and vowed to continue taking a tough position on protests despite Western rebukes over the election.

In 2016, the EU lifted most of the sanctions it slapped on Belarus in 2004 after the president, dubbed “Europe's last dictator in the West,” freed political prisoners and allowed protests.