Belarus: fifty activists arrested, including an opposition leader

The opposition leader in Belarus, Mikola Statkevitch, on September 10, 2015, in Minsk. The opponent was arrested yesterday during a demonstration. SERGEI GAPON / AFP

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Dozens of opposition activists have been arrested in Belarus, including one of its leading figures, Mikola Statkevitch. These arrests come at the approach of the presidential election, scheduled for August.

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This ex-Soviet republic has been led by an iron fist by Alexander Lukashenko since 1994 and he intends to be re-elected this summer. According to human rights organization Viasna, around 50 opposition activists were arrested by police on Friday and over the weekend while they were collecting signatures to allow opponents to participate in the presidential election.

These included supporters of blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, himself arrested on Friday May 29, who was banned from running by the Election Commission. One of the main opposition figures, Mikola Statkevich, was arrested on Sunday May 31 while on the way to the scene of a protest action in Minsk. His wife Marina Adamovitch said on Monday June 1 that her husband was in detention and would soon appear before a judge.

Five years in prison

Mikola Statkevich, who challenged Alexander Lukashenko for the presidential election in 2010, was subsequently imprisoned for five years for organizing demonstrations against the government. It is this condemnation that earned him to be banned from the electoral race in 2020.

Belarus announced the organization of a presidential election on August 9, despite the epidemic of the new coronavirus which has not spared the country but which Alexander Lukashenko has continued to minimize. In power since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko, 65, has already announced that he will run for a sixth term.

( With AFP )

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  • Belarus
  • Alexander Lukashenko

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