MINSK — Dozens of university students have been dragged off the streets and pushed into vans in Minsk, as fresh protests broke out in the Belarusian capital against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Two unsanctioned rallies — organized separately by students of the Minsk State Linguistic University and women’s groups — took place on September 5, on the fourth weekend since Lukashenka’s disputed reelection.
Draped in red-and-white flags that have long been a symbol of opposition to Lukashenka’s rule, students staged demonstrations in several places in Minsk, including the Jakub Kolas Square and in Karl Marx Street in the city center.
Some news agencies reported that up to 30 people were detained by law enforcement.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusians take to the streets to demand the resignation of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and call for new elections after official results from the August 9 presidential poll gave Lukashenka a landslide victory.
In the afternoon, thousands of women began a rally near the Independence Avenue. Some reporters at the scene put the number of the rally participants at around 10,000.
Lukashenka, who has kept a tight grip on power in Belarus for 26 years, was declared the winner in an August 9 presidential election, which was widely viewed as rigged.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens have since taken to the streets across the country to protest the results, calling on Lukashenka to step down, release all political prisoners, and hold free and fair elections.
Much of Europe, as well as the United States and other countries, have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka’s crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote.
In a statement on September 1, UN human rights experts said they had received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people held in custody since the election.