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Belarusian, foreign reporters detained while covering rallies in Minsk

The unregistered human rights center Vesna said more than 180 people were detained during the rally in the Belarusian capital

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. At least eight Belarusian and foreign media journalists covering an unsanctioned rally in the capital Minsk were briefly detained by police on Tuesday, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said on its website.

According to the association, police detained journalists of Euroradio, the tut.by web portal, the Belsat TV channel, BBC and the Belarusian office of Radio Liberty. All reporters have already been released.

The unregistered human rights center Vesna said more than 180 people were detained during the rally in the Belarusian capital. Detentions also took place in the cities of Pruzhany, Gomel, Brest, Soligorsk, Bobruisk, Stolbtsy and Grodno.

People took to the streets of Minsk on Tuesday evening to show solidarity after the country’s Central Election Commission refused to register Viktor Babariko and Valery Tsepkalo as presidential candidates. Police used loudspeakers to warn the rally participants about administrative responsibility for taking part in unsanctioned rallies.

Presidential elections in Belarus are scheduled for August 9. The country’s Central Election Commission registered five people as presidential candidates, including incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko.