Saturday, September 26, 2020

Belarus police detain dozens as crowds chant against Lukashenko


By Andrei Makhovsky
4 hrs ago

© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

By Andrei Makhovsky  
  
© Reuters/STRINGER Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian security forces detained dozens of protesters on Saturday as crowds rallied in central Minsk accusing President Alexander Lukashenko of rigging last month's election.  
© Reuters/STRINGER Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

One group of women chanted "Our president is Sveta!" - referring to opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who they say won the vote - before riot police dragged many of them into vans. Other protesters were arrested nearby.
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by mass street protests since Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory in an Aug. 9 vote.
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

He has denied rigging the election and dismissed opposition accusations of mass arrests and abuses as a Western smear campaign.
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

On Saturday, video on social media showed police detaining Nina Baginskaya, a 73-year-old who has become a central figure of the protest movement after scuffling with police last month.  
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

The footage showed a masked riot police officer ripping a red and white flag out of Baginskaya's hands before dragging her into a van. 
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

Protesters have used the flag that Belarus adopted after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, before Lukashenko restored the Soviet version four years later. 
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

Lukashenko, a 66-year-old former collective farm manager, was sworn in for a sixth term on Wednesday in a ceremony held without warning, prompting thousands to take the streets of the capital.
  
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

(Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; editing by Jason Neely and Andrew Heavens) 
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk 
© Reuters/TUT.BY Belarusian opposition supporters hold a rally in Minsk

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