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Belarusian opposition to go to court over use of force against protesters

All those who used violence must be held responsible under the Belarusian laws, said Maria Kolesnikova, an ally of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya

MINSK, August 16. /TASS/. Belarus’ opposition on Monday will go to court demanding a criminal case be opened against law enforcement agencies over excessive use of force to disperse protests, Maria Kolesnikova, an ally of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said on Sunday at a protest rally in central Minsk.

"Tomorrow, we will lodge a motion to open a criminal case over the death of people and illegal actions of law enforcers. All those who used violence must be held responsible under the Belarusian laws," she said as cited by Maxim Znak, an attorney of Tikhanovskaya’s election team.

On August 9, Belarus held its sixth presidential election since declaring independence in 1991. According to the final results of Sunday’s voting, the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, won 80.1% of the vote. His closest rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, scored 10.12% of votes. However, she did not recognize the results of the voting.

Mass protests and clashes with police took place in Minsk and other Belarusian cities on Sunday night into Monday morning after exit poll results were made public. Rallies continued for several days. As a result, several thousands of people were detained, dozens of law enforcers and demonstrators were injured.

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