Sat 19 September 2020:
The march was the latest in a series of all-women protests calling for the strongman president to leave
Riot police detained hundreds of protesters taking part in a rally in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Saturday, demanding an end to President Alexander Lukashenko’s rule.
Approximately 2,000 women took part in the “Sparkly March” on Saturday, wearing shiny accessories and carrying red-and-white flags of the protest movement.
Police blocked the women and began dragging them into police vans as they stood with linked hands, swiftly detaining several hundred, an AFP journalist saw.
The human rights group Viasna told The Associated Press that more than 200 people were arrested in Saturday’s protest.
According to “Viasna” human rights advocacy group, at least 217 people, most of them women, were detained during today’s protests. This includes several journalists. The final number is yet to be released as the arrests are still going on. pic.twitter.com/qbk7QooB1i
— Pray For Belarus (@PrayForBelarus) September 19, 2020
Lukaschenko und seine Charakterlosen Handlanger von der Polizei und Omon schlagen wieder zu hunderte Verhaftungen @Europarl_DE #BelarusProtest #belaruswomen ⬜?⬜ pic.twitter.com/Uq6RzBq3S5
— Tietz Maik?❤️? (@tietz_maik) September 19, 2020
The march was the latest in a series of all-women protests calling for the strongman president to leave following his disputed victory in elections last month.
His opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya also claimed the victory.
“They are marching despite being constantly menaced and put under pressure,” she said.
Among those detained on Saturday was Nina Baginskaya, a 73-year-old activist who has become one of the best-known faces of the protest movement. Police released her outside a police station shortly afterwards.
Police detained so many protesters that they ran out of room in vans, releasing approximately 10 women.
Ambulances were called after several women became unwell during their detention. One female protester was taken away in an ambulance after lying on the ground, apparently unconscious.
The opposition is due to hold mass demonstrations on Sunday.
Lukashenko’s crackdown on the protests has prompted the European Union to weigh fresh sanctions against his government.
The president, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, says the protesters are being backed by foreign powers. Earlier this month he secured a $1.5bn lifeline from Moscow.
More than 100 women were detained at a similar rally last week, during a violent clampdown on protestors by masked police. Demonstrators, under the banner “March of Female Solidarity,” made it through several streets before police intervened.
