Sun 13 September 2020:
Belarus police detained at least 250 protesters as tens of thousands demonstrated in the capital Minsk ahead of talks between strongman Alexander Lukashenko and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
At least 100,000 Belarusian anti-government protesters flooded the centre of Minsk on Sunday, a Reuters eyewitness said.
Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk was fenced off with barbed wire with armed law enforcement forces seen behind it. Independence Square was also fenced off.
Demonstrators were heading towards the Palace of Independence, President Lukashenko’s residence.
“Soldiers rounded us up in several circles, people were selectively pulled out of the crowd and beaten,” one unidentified demonstrator told Reuters news agency.
Lukashenko – in power for 26 years – is facing a groundswell of public anger after declaring a landslide win at last month’s presidential election that his opponents say was rigged.
Lukashenko denies these allegations.
On Saturday, at least 5,000 people marched through the city demanding the release of a jailed opposition leader in the latest in a wave of mass protests after the August 9 presidential vote.
Belarus’ key opposition figures have been either jailed or forced out of the country. Lukashenko will visit Russia for talks with Putin on Monday as both countries start joint military drills.
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