Belarus: hundreds of demonstrators arrested in Minsk

In Belarus, anti-riot forces arrested hundreds of women in Minsk on Saturday demanding the departure of President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 26 years.

Tut.By via REUTERS

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

Belarusian police on Saturday arrested hundreds of protesters in central Minsk, according to a witness, as around 2,000 people marched through the capital to demand the departure of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Publicity

Read more

At the head of Belarus since 1994, Lukashenko was declared the winner of the presidential election on August 9, but the proclamation of his victory was rejected by the opposition, which denounces massive fraud, and provoked major protest demonstrations.

Saturday's protesters, mostly women, briefly clashed with police who then blocked their way before choosing one by one of the people in the crowd, the witness said.

Among those detained was Nina Baginskaya, a 73-year-old opposition activist who has become an icon of the protest movement after fighting with armed police last month.

Despite the pressure of reprisals, women continue to come out ...

Franco-Belarusian journalist Andrei Vaitovich witnessed some of these arrests, which he said did not undermine the determination of the demonstrators.

Marie Normand

Opponent Maxime Znak goes on hunger strike

In addition, Belarusian opponent Maxim Znak has started a hunger strike in the prison where he has been held since being accused of endangering state security, the Coordination Council of State said on Friday. the opposition.

Maxime Znak was kidnapped last week by masked men, two days after the disappearance in similar conditions of Maria Kolesnikova, another figure in the protest movement started more than a month ago, after the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.

(With

)

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

• Belarus

On the same subject

Torture massively used in Belarus, according to several NGOs

Belarus: Putin "convinced" that Lukashenko will overcome the crisis

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visits Vladimir Putin