Militia dispersed demonstrators in Minsk
Minsk, Oct. 12, LETA – REUTERS / DOŽDJ. Belarusian security forces on Sunday, using sticks and water jets, dispersed demonstrators who, as usual on the weekends, demanded the resignation of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko and new elections.
As every Sunday, thousands of protesters had taken to the streets of Minsk, and videos published by local media show militants with black masks on their faces beating demonstrators with sticks and sitting people out of the crowd in unlicensed minibuses.
The militia also used tear gas and noise grenades to disperse the demonstrators.
According to the human rights organization Vyasna, more than 250 people have been detained.
Among them, about 30 journalists were detained, 14 of whom have still not been released.
Protests also took place in other Belarusian cities on Sunday.
Protests against the rigging of the presidential election have been reported in Belarus for two months now. More than 13,000 people have been detained and several hundred injured during the protests.
According to the official results of the presidential election in Belarus on August 9, the current head of state Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote, and opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovska – 10.1%, but the opposition believes that the election results are fake and Tikhanovsky won the election convincingly.
The EU and other Western countries have also refused to recognize the election results.
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