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Tens of thousands of people took part in a new protest in Minsk on Sunday against President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry announced that 250 protesters were detained this weekend, 87 of whom are in custody, DPA and AFP reported.
According to an AFP reporter, the tens of thousands of people form a column of several kilometers in the center of the Belarusian capital. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that there are around 100,000 protesters.
According to the DPA, massive police devices are visible on the streets of Minsk, and protests are also taking place in other cities of the country.
This is the fifth consecutive weekend of protests against Lukashenko’s re-election following the August 9 presidential elections, which the opposition considers fraudulent.
According to the human rights group Viasna, many of those recently arrested are women and there have been cases of violence during their detention.
The main Belarusian opposition figures are also women, including Svetlana Tikhanovskaia, an opponent of President Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential elections on August 9 and who took refuge in Lithuania after the elections.
Another opponent, Maria Kolesnikova, who opposed expulsion from the country, is in jail on charges of trying to overthrow the government. Sunday’s protest, dubbed the “March of Heroes,” attempts to draw attention to their situation.
