MOSCOW (RUSSIA) – Authorities in Belarus started to detain protesters as they took to the streets for another march on Sunday after the country’s controversial elections last month.
The Interior Ministry said a total of 114 people were held across the country last night, and it saw at least 99 of them detained in the capital.
Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk was fenced off with barbed wire on Sunday. Armed law enforcement forces were seen behind it, a Reuters witness said.
One protester who gave her name as Tatiana told, “there were over 1,000 people in our group”.
“Soldiers rounded us up in several circles, people were selectively pulled out of the crowd and beaten,” she added.
Olga Chemodanova, an official at the Interior Ministry, told TASS separately that additional police and interior ministry forces were employed on Sunday to prevent the rally.
On the other hand, Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, has rebuked any mishandling in the recent elections and blamed foreign powers for backing the protests.
Lukashenko is expected to visit Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin on Monday and joint military drills will start on September 14.