Over 760 people detained across Belarus at Sunday opposition rallies: Rights activists
Nov 16, 2020
Minsk [Belarus], November 16 (ANI/Sputnik): More than 760 people were detained during unauthorised anti-government protests held across Belarus Sunday, the unregistered Viasna human rights centre said.
Earlier in the day, a Sputnik correspondent reported that a few hundred people gathered near the Pushkinkaya metro station in Minsk. The police detained several dozen anti-government demonstrators and used tear gas to disperse them. Local opposition-minded telegram channels and media outlets have shared videos from eyewitnesses, which show protesters running away from security forces after the latter used tear gas.
The rights group has published on its website the names of 767 people detained during anti-government protests. Most of them were detained in the Belarusian capital.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported that at least 23 reporters, including an RIA Novosti correspondent, were detained while covering protests across the country, adding that some of them have been already released.
Belarus has been facing massive opposition protests following the presidential election on August 9 that saw President Alexander Lukashenko reelected for a sixth term. While electoral authorities maintain that Lukashenko collected over 80 per cent of the vote, the opposition insists that his key contender, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, won the election. Opposition figures also accuse the security forces of resorting to excessive violence during the protests. Protests continue to this day, the largest being on weekends. (ANI/Sputnik)
