Security Forces in Minsk Exterminate and Detain People Who Came to Commemorate Died Opposition Activist / Article / LSM.lv

Security forces in Minsk fade and detain people gathered to commemorate killed opposition activistRihards Plūme00:00 / 00:00

—

Roman Bandarenka, a 31-year-old opposition activist, was hospitalized after being beaten by security forces in Minsk. This was announced on Thursday by the independent TV channel “Belsat” and other Belarusian media, referring to the deceased’s family. The man died at the hospital.

Today, the portal “Tribuna” reports that Dmitry Baskov, the president of the Belarusian Hockey Federation, was also present in the attack, after which Bandarenka died.

Bandarenka left home before the beat to find out the situation when the security forces removed the white-red and white ribbons in civilian clothes. The sports portal reports that a person similar to Baskov took part in the removal of the tapes and, moreover, one of the eyewitnesses of the event is convinced that he spoke directly with Baskov.

Demonstrations against the regime of former President Alexander Lukashenko have killed at least four people since August, and the European Union condemned Bandarenko’s death on Friday and warned Minsk of new sanctions.

In recent days, many thousands of people have been walking the streets of Belarusian cities, especially in Minsk, to commemorate the man. Bandarenka lived near the so-called “Square of Change”, and that’s where people have been putting flowers, candles, flags, photos and mentioning them for several days.

Today was no exception, with thousands gathering in the square. However, this time several hundred security forces also arrived, who destroyed people using tear gas and noise grenades. Realizing that arrests were imminent, the remaining people gathered around the memorial in a chain, chanting the slogans “stop killing” and “one for all, all for one.” The security guards began to siege people but then one by one began to pull out of the chain and take him away.

There were so many detainees, including even a pensioner with a child, at that time that not everyone had a place on the buses. Security guards are also walking around the houses near the “Square of Change”, looking for people who might be hiding in the apartments. The human rights organization Vyasna reported that more than a hundred people had been detained, including journalists.

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tihanovska today called on the international community to support protesters in Belarus. On Twitter, Tikhanovsky wrote: “We call on our allies to stand up for the Belarusian people and human rights. We need humanitarian corridors for the injured, support for the media, international criminal investigations. ”

CONTEXT:

Protests against the rigging of the presidential election have continued in Belarus since 9 August.

According to the official results of the presidential election in Belarus on August 9, the former head of state Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote and the opposition candidate Tikhanovska – 10.1%, but the opposition believes that the election results are fake and Tikhanovsky won the election convincingly.

The European Union and other Western countries have also refused to recognize the election results.

–