MINSK, August 12. /TASS/. Belarusian security agencies detained 55 journalists this week, including 41 during the past two days of protests against the results of the presidential election, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said on Wednesday.

The Belarusian NGO notes that since the start of the August 4 early vote the detentions have been on the rise. On August 7, reporters of Current Time TV channel Irina Romaliyskaya, Ivan Grebenyuk (Ukraine) and Yuri Baranyuk (Russia) were held. They were deported from Belarus and were barred from entering the country for 10 years.

On Sunday, correspondents of Daily Storm Anton Starkov and Dmitry Lasenko were detained but were later released. A photographer of the Associated Press news agency, Mstislav Chernov, was injured and sent to hospital. On the same day, a film crew of Russia’s Dozhd TV channel was detained and later deported from the country. Polish journalist Vitold Dobrovolsky was held on Monday.

The Belarusian Interior Ministry is investigating the incidents of obstructing the journalists’ professional activity. "We won’t leave this without attention," spokesperson Olga Chemodanova said.