Czech Foreign Ministry to help persecuted Russians, Belarusians

The Czech Foreign Ministry has prepared a programme in aid of the Russian and Belarusian citizens who face persecution in their motherland, such as independent journalists and academics, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told journalists after a government meeting today. In Prague, conditions will be created for representatives of civic society so that they can continue with their activities. The programme called Civic Society is to help the people actively opposing the regimes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.