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Belarus' interior ministry denies reports about 4,000 people still in detention facilities

"It is a fake", said Olga Chemodanova

MINSK, August 17. /TASS/. Belarus’ interior ministry denies reports about some 4,000 people being still kept at detention facilities after protest rallies, Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova told TASS on Sunday.

"It is a fake. It is not true. All the lists of those kept at detention facilities in Zhodino and Minsk are available at the doors to these facilities. Stop indulging in fake news," she said.

She did not say however how many people who had been detained during the protests were still kept at detention facilities. "These data should be requested from the supervisory department. I can give this figure on Monday," she said.

Maria Kolesnikova, an ally of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said earlier on Sunday that around 4,000 people are still kept at detention facilities and demanded their immediate release.

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