MINSK, August 11. /TASS/. Special purpose mobile units of the Belarusian police (OMON) have suppressed an unsanctioned protest held in downtown Minsk. An improvised memorial was set up on Pushkin Square in the Belarusian capital at the site where a protester had been killed.
TASS reports from the scene that about 200 people had gathered near the memorial. Three have been detained. OMON officers are asking the remaining people to leave the memorial.
Belarus held a presidential election on August 9. According to the preliminary results provided by the Belarusian Central Election Commission, incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko got 80.08% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was considered his main opponent, came in second with 10.09%. She stated that she didn’t recognize these results, considering herself the elected head of state, and filed a complaint with the Central Election Commission. After exit poll results were announced in the evening of August 9, protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other regions of the country, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement forces. As a result, according to the republic’s Interior Ministry, about 3,000 people were detained while dozens of police officers and protesters were injured.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry informed of one person killed in the protests, stating that a man "tried to throw an unidentified explosive at law enforcement officers, but it exploded in his hand."