U.N. rights chief decries further arrests, torture in Belarus

GENEVA: The human rights situation in Belarus continues to deteriorate, marked by raids on activists and independent media and allegations of torture, the top

U.N.

human rights official said on Monday.

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 U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The European Union will on Monday 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.