All news

Over 300 protesters detained in Minsk

Some of those detained had earlier been brought to responsibility for taking part in unauthorized rallies

MINSK, December 6. /TASS/. More than 300 protesters were detained in Minsk on Sunday, spokesman for the Minsk police department Alexander Kupchenya said.

"More than 300 people were detained in Minsk on charges of violating the law on mass gatherings (article 23.34 of the Belarusian Code of Administrative Offense)," he said.

According to the Minsk police, small groups of protesters gathered in Minsk’s dwelling quarters in a time span from noon to 15:00 local time. "In some districts, participants in the unauthorized gatherings tried to block traffic. Measures were taken to prevent such actions," the spokesman said, adding that some of those detained had earlier been brought to responsibility for taking part in unauthorized rallies. Some, in his words, offered resistance to the police, which is punishable by an arrest of up to 30 days. "So, some of those detained have a real chance to see in the New Year in custody, instead of being at home, with the family," he added.

Meanwhile, according to human rights activists, protesters were detained in other Belarusian cities. The unregistered human rights center Vesna said on its website that by now it knows about 182 detained people. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, several journalists were detained during Sunday’s protests. Some of them were released after identity checks.

Nationwide demonstrations have engulfed Belarus following the August 9 presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission’s official results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, came in second, with 10.12% of the ballot. However, she refused to recognize the election’s outcome, and left Belarus for Lithuania. After the results of the exit polls were announced late on August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities. During the early post-election period, the rallies snowballed into fierce clashes between the protesters and police. The current unrest is being cheered on by the opposition’s Coordination Council, which has been beating the drum for more protests. In response, the Belarusian authorities have castigated the ongoing turmoil and demanded that these unauthorized demonstrations be stopped. More than 30,000 people have been detained since August 9. Most of them were subjects to administrative arrests and fines, some face criminal charges.