Police in Belarus disperse another protest, detain scores
Police in Belarus have detained scores of demonstrators pushing for the resignation of the country’s authoritarian leader after an August election widely seen as manipulated
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Police in Belarus on Saturday detained scores of demonstrators pushing for the resignation of the country s authoritarian leader after an August election widely seen as manipulated.
Hundreds of students marched across the capital, chanting “Go away" to demand that President Alexander Lukashenko step down. They were blocked by police, who rounded up some and forced others to disperse.
Later in the day, hundreds of women staged their regular weekend march across the capital, Minsk. “You sang your song, it's time to get off the stage!” one placard read.
The Viasna human rights center said more than 30 demonstrators were detained.
Daily protests have occurred since the Aug. 9 election in which Lukashenko was declared the winner with 80% of the vote. The European Union and the United States denounced the vote as neither free nor fair and introduced sanctions against top Belarusian officials accused of rigging the vote and engineering the post-election crackdown.
Earlier this week, the top opposition challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who moved to Lithuania after the election under pressure from Belarusian authorities, put forward an ultimatum to Lukashenko: announce his resignation by Oct. 25 or face a nationwide strike.
Tsikhanouskaya hailed the participants of Saturday's rallies as a “big and bright force.”
Lukashenko, who has run the ex-Soviet nation with an iron fist for more than 26 years, has accused the West of fueling the protests and relied on support from his main sponsor and ally, Russia, to dig in.
Belarusian authorities tried to squelch the protests with massive violence in the first days after the vote, dispersing peaceful demonstrators with stun grenades and rubber bullets, detaining thousands and beating hundreds. The crackdown drew international outrage and helped swell the number of protesters, peaking each Sunday with over 100,000 on the streets.
Since then, the government has scaled down the violence but maintained the pressure, regularly detaining scores of protesters and prosecuting top activists. Prominent members of the opposition’s Coordination Council, formed to push for a transition of power, have been arrested or forced to leave the country.
Authorities also have made methodical efforts to stifle independent media, regularly rounding up reporters covering protests and threatening them with jail terms for taking part. Several journalists were detained on Saturday.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.