MINSK (BELARUS) – With authorities in Belarus ordering a crackdown on mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, security forces arrested scores of demonstrators and were filmed beating a man lying on the street.
Those opposed to Lukashenko allege he rigged the elections conducted nearly a month ago and tens of thousands of protesters marched through the capital Minsk and many of them sported red and white colours, symbolising the opposition and chanting “go away!” and “you’re a rat!”.
There was barbed wire on the streets along with military vehicles, prisoner vans, water cannons, policemen in riot gear and officers in civvies wielding truncheons.
Russian news agency Interfax said 100 people were arrested while human rights group Spring-96 said the number stood at 200. Protest rallies and detentions also took place in other cities.
Footage from a local media outfit showed a masked person manhandling a person lying on the ground. Officers in civvies could be seen smashing the glass door of a cafe to arrest protesters hiding inside.
“We ran into a cafe to hide from the riot police, they broke the glass, burst inside, pulled out three people, beat at least one,” said Evgeny, a 28-year-old protester.
