Thousands of people have demonstrated in Minsk since the presidential elections
Photo: Valery Sharifulin / imago images / ITAR-TASSA demonstrator arrested during the protests against the leadership in Belarus has died, according to the authorities. The cause of death of the 25-year-old is unclear, as the investigation committee announced. The media quoted the dead man's mother saying that he had heart problems and had been detained in a police car for hours. It is the second fatality since the beginning of the nationwide protests against the controversial re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
The young man was arrested on Sunday in the city of Gomel during an "unauthorized" demonstration against the presidential election and sentenced to ten days in prison, it said. In custody he "suddenly felt worse". The time of his death was initially unknown.
In Belarus there have been massive protests for days against the presidential election on Sunday, which was accompanied by allegations of electoral fraud and against which security forces are using stun grenades and rubber bullets. In the city of Brest in the south of the country, the police even shot demonstrators with live ammunition, according to the Interior Ministry. At least one person was injured.
Thousands of demonstrators arrested, hundreds injured
A demonstrator had already been killed in the capital Minsk on Monday, and according to government information, an explosive device had exploded in his hands. At least 250 injured were admitted to hospital. Thousands of demonstrators have been arrested since Sunday.
In protest against police violence, hundreds of women dressed in white formed a human chain in Minsk on Wednesday. In the evening, numerous security forces prepared for new demonstrations and blocked off central streets. The metro stations were also closed, as AFP reporters reported.
Sharp criticism of the authorities' actions has been expressed internationally. At a video conference on Friday, the EU foreign ministers discussed the possible reintroduction of punitive measures against Belarus. The federal government denounced a "wave of repression" in the authoritarian country. The departure of the opposition politician Svetlana Tichanowskaja to Lithuania shows the "climate of intimidation, fear and violence" prevailing in Belarus, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert.
The UN accuses Belarus of "unnecessary and excessive violence"
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed "very great concerns". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for the protection of "non-violent demonstrators". UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet accused Belarus of “unnecessary and excessive violence”. Lithuania, Latvia and Poland submitted a mediation plan between Lukashenko and the opposition, but Lukashenko has so far refused any dialogue.
Meanwhile, the opposition politician Maria Kalesnikawa spoke out against Western sanctions. "This is not a productive way," she told the magazine "Cicero". "Something like that doesn't work against a dictator." Only the will of the people could induce Lukashenko to call new, free elections and release the political prisoners. Kalesnikawa called on Lukashenko to "stop the bloodbath" and "listen to the people".
According to the official election results, Lukashenko, who has been ruling authoritarian for 26, received more than 80 percent of the vote. His main rival Tichanowskaja, who has since fled to Lithuania, received only around ten percent. There are considerable international doubts about the official election result in Belarus. The European Union described the election as "neither free nor fair" and threatened sanctions.
Icon: The mirrorhba / AFP
