Belarus: protests against ruler Alexander Lukashenko again

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Emergency forces in Minsk on the evening of August 9th

The anger and disappointment at the manipulation during the presidential election in Belarus drove numerous people onto the streets on Monday evening. This is shown by various videos on Telegram channels, report correspondents from independent media. In Minsk, people gathered in various parts of the city, according to initial information there are again thousands. At first there were no exact figures. They shouted "Live Belarus" and "Shame" and clapped. Drivers supported them with horn concerts and blocked some streets.

The security forces again cracked down on peaceful demonstrators, pulled them out of the crowd, attacked them with batons, and dragged them into prison vans. The officers fired rubber bullets at people, and a reporter from the independent newspaper Nascha Niwa was injured. Stun grenades and tear gas were again used against the demonstrators. Military forces also took up positions in the capital.

They had arrested hundreds of protesters the night before. Dozens of people were injured. Protesters were also injured on Monday, according to initial reports. The Ministry of the Interior reported one death. The man died on Prytytsky Boulevard. He wanted to throw an "unidentifiable explosive device" at the officers, which had exploded in his hand. The man injured himself so badly that he died, quoted the independent Internet site tut.by a statement from the authority.

Doubts about the official election result

Lukashenko had been declared the winner of the election for the sixth time. The electoral commission claimed that he received more than 80 percent of the vote. Opposition supporters doubt this information. In 100 polling stations where observers could watch the vote, the opposition Svetlana Tichanowskaja won the election against Lukashenko, reported the election initiative "Honest People".

Despite the massive deployment of the security forces, people in various cities in the regions dared to demonstrate against Lukashenko on the second evening. Hundreds of people protested in Grodno on the Polish border, in Nawapolazk in the north of the country and in Babrujsk, about 140 kilometers southeast of Minsk. In Brest, a city in the west on the border with Poland, correspondents reported on the use of stun grenades and tear gas against demonstrators.

Concern for Svetlana Tichanovskaya

Tichanwoskaja had not recognized the official result and declared herself the winner. She did not want to protest, she said, and did not want the situation to escalate. She again appealed to the security forces not to use force.

In the afternoon she filed a complaint against the election result with the Central Election Commission in Minsk. After that, she could not be reached by phone for hours, as her spokeswoman Anna Krasulina confirmed to SPIEGEL in the evening. Hours later, the team said on its Telegram channel "Land for Life" that the opposition politician had been reached and that she was fine. The press officer could not be reached.

The KGB claimed on Monday that an assassination attempt on Tichanovskaya was planned. However, the secret service had stated in elections in the past that it had allegedly thwarted attacks.

Collaboration: Alexander Chernyshev