According to data collected by the Belorussian human rights defenders, during Wednesday protests, police arrested 240 people. Some of them were already released. The situation of those detained is still unknown, and it remains unclear if they will face court trials.
On Wednesday protests were held in the biggest Belorussian cities, organized by a group “Revolution through social network”. The group was lauched on vkontake.ru – a Russian counterpart of Facebook. According to estimatest, few thousand people took to the streets on Wednesday in the entire country.
Initiators of the group call on Belorussians to gather at main squars every Wednesday at 7pm, without chanting or bringing banners so that the police does not have an excuse for arresting participants of the action.
In Minsk, in order to prevent the protest from taking place, the police blocked the entrance from metro stations and sourranded the square. Physical Education students were brought to the square, and the police informed through the laud speakers that they need the space to practice before Independence Day parade on July 3rd.
In Hrodna, police arrested a new reporter of Polish radio station TOK FM – Agnieszka Lichnerowicz and Polish TV channel TVP 1 camera operator Borys Czerniawski, who also holds Russian citizenship. They were released after Polish consul intervened at the police station. According to independent media, 15 people were detained in Hrodna.
In Brest, 500 people gathered at the main square, 10 were arrested. In Vietbsk, also tens of people showed up, a few were arrested, among them a journalist of an independent website on local issues, who was taking photos of the demonstration. Two journalists were arrested Homel, one of them was a correspondent for Belaurs of “Kosmolskaya Pravda”, Pauluk Mickiewicz. According to Radio Svoboda, some people were arrested in Baranowicze.
In Homel more than a hundred people gathered, simillar in Mohylevo. Protests were also held in Mozyrz, Polock, Sluck, Borysovo, Bobrusk, Zodzin, Lid and Kobryn.
Every week, more people join. First action, held two weeks ago, attracted in Minsk roughly 180 people. Last week, 300 to 800 people protested in the capital.
News source: Polskie Radio/PAP
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