At least 109 persons were detained during protests in Belarus on October 12, human rights centre Viasna reports. On Monday afternoon, siloviki were dispersing participants in the March of Pensioners in Minsk; a bit later, they started a crackdown on protesters in a number of bedroom communities.
Most detainees were grabbed in the Belarusian capital; there are also several detained residents of Vitsebsk and Mahiliou. According to Viasna, some apprehended persons needed medical help, four of them were taken by ambulance; its list also includes names of minors.
As reported earlier, thousands of senior citizens took to Minsk streets to protest against police abuse. The participants gathered in Independence Square and marched along the city’s main avenue. In the vicinity of the Belarusian National Technical University, siloviki used tear gas and diversionary devices against them.
In response to the authorities’ resorting to excessive force against elderly people, Minskers held evening protest rallies in the north-west and south-east of the capital city. At first, they were of peaceful nature. However, when the police exploded flashbang grenades and fired rubber bullets at the protesters, car tyres were set on fire at two spots. Smaller demonstrations also took place in Brest, Hrodna, Homiel, Lida.
Two months have passed since post-election protests broke out in the country; Belarusians keep taking to the streets, demanding Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s resignation, holding a free and fair election, releasing political prisoners, putting an end to police violence as well as state-run TV stations’ providing people with unbiased and reliable information.
