More than 300 people were arrested during the protests in Minsk.

“Violations of the legislation on mass events on the territory of Minsk have resulted in the arrest of more than 300 citizens, in respect of whom administrative proceedings have been initiated … for violations of the procedure for organizing and carrying out mass events.” said the Minsk militia.

It is also stated that the Minsk militia “continues to work and tries to identify citizens who have previously participated and were not arrested during the actions. More than 80 of those people were identified last week.

Early Sunday, the Viasna human rights center announced that 103 people had already been arrested during the protests.

Belarus has been plagued by massive protests for nearly four months over the August 9 presidential election, which was declared won by Lukashenko, a 66-year-old leader in the country since 1994.

The opposition and western democracies claim that the elections were rigged and that the winner is seen as political rookie Sviatlan Cichanouskaya, who replaced her imprisoned husband in the presidential fight.

In recent weeks, the Minsk regime has taken tough measures to quell the protests. Hundreds of people were arrested and protesters were banned from voting in central Minsk.

In response, Lukashenko’s opponents changed tack, calling on supporters to choose small groups in the neighborhoods of Minsk rather than large demonstrations in the center of the capital.

Local media reported that several dozen meeting venues were scheduled for Sunday in Minsk and other cities.

Images posted on social media show small groups of protesters gathered in courtyards while others marched through the city with white and red flags.

“Every march reminds us that Belarusians will not give up. We will not allow our rights to be taken away from us and we will see crimes through our fingers,” wrote S. Cichanouskaja, 38, on his Telegram channel.

In the first days of the demonstrations following the August 9 elections, Belarusian militias detained thousands of protesters, many of whom subsequently denounced torture and ill-treatment.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Lukashenko and his allies for violating election fraud and demonstrations.

S. Cichanouskaja, who left for Lithuania shortly after the elections, received support from several Western leaders who refused to acknowledge the election results.

Lukashenko, strongly supported by Moscow, refuses to resign and proposes constitutional reform as a way to appease the opposition.