GENEVA, June 21 — The human rights situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate, marked by raids on activists and independent media and allegations of torture, the top UN human rights official said today.

The government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has discontinued the presence of her office’s senior adviser in Minsk, who had provided a "window of cooperation”, Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The European Union will today impose travel bans and asset freezes on 86 Belarusian individuals and companies, but will leave the decision on when to impose economic sanctions to leaders, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. — Reuters