More than 100 people detained in Belarus today after resumption of protests against Lukashenko’s rule / Article / LSM.lv

More than 100 people have been detained in protests in BelarusUģis Lībietis00:00 / 02:32

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It is possible that in response to such statements, a large number of militiamen were gathered on the streets of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on Saturday. According to eyewitness accounts, in the early hours of the morning, people removed white and white flags in several districts of Minsk without identification signs, as well as began to detain people.

In the afternoon, most people were detained at Bangalore Square. More than 100 people, including several journalists, have been detained, according to tut.by. Among them are Yegor Martinovich, editor-in-chief of Nash Niva, as well as correspondent Katerina Karpicka and photographer Nadezhda Buzana. Galina Ulasika, the editor of the already mentioned edition “tut.by”, and her colleague Anna Kaltigina have also been detained. After the arrest and inspection of documents, Natalia Dulina, a member of the main composition of the opposition Coordination Council, has also been released. Several other activists were searched on Saturday.

Interestingly, according to the official statement of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, no mass events took place in Minsk on Saturday, no mass arrests took place, only individuals were taken to the police to find out the circumstances of the violations.

Meanwhile, it has become known that the Minsk City Committee of Inquiry wants to recognize the founder of the communication application “Telegram” channel “Nexta” and other channels Stepan Putilo and his team as a foreign extremist organization, banning its activities in Belarus. The Committee of Inquiry has noted that Telegram channels have repeatedly called for protests, roadblocks, calls for strikes and regular coordination of unauthorized mass events.

Protests against the regime of President Lukashenko have also affected Belarus’ participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Namely, on Friday night it became known that Belarus will not be represented in the song contest this year. The organizers of the competition had previously admitted that the song “Ja nauču tebja” (“I will teach you”) by the Belarusian-led group Galasy ZMesta contains political subtitles, namely, demonstrations against Lukashenko are ridiculed. Belarus was given the opportunity to submit another song or rework the previous one, but the second option was also rejected. Belarusian officials have already stated that the decision taken by the European Broadcasting Union is politically motivated.

CONTEXT:

Protests against the regime of Belarus’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus have been steady since last August’s presidential election. Former President Lukashenko has been declared the winner, but the opposition accuses the regime of widespread falsification of the election results and demands his resignation. The opposition considers Svyatlan Cihanouska to be the real winner of the election.

At the height of the protests, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Belarus. Protests continue, but on a much smaller scale, many opposition supporters have been imprisoned or fled abroad.

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