Belarus: large crowds expected at anti-Lukashenko protests

Large protests are expected to take place in Belarus that will then demand the resignation of former President Alexander Lukashenko as the crackdown escalates.

On Saturday, security agents in the capital Minsk detained dozens of people, mostly students, in the fourth weekend of protests.

In a separate march, thousands of women chanted “hands off the children.”

Meanwhile, a leading opposition activist said she had taken refuge in Poland after receiving threats from the security forces.

The protesters say the presidential elections on August 9 were rigged to keep Lukashenko in office. Protesters, human rights activists and observers have accused riot police of brutally cracking down on peaceful marches.

Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has accused Western nations of interfering.

Sunday’s protests may be the largest yet in Minsk since they began four weeks ago, reports the BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Minsk.

Riot police have stepped up their efforts to intimidate and block the flow of people heading to the center of Minsk while detaining those taking part in the demonstrations, our correspondent adds.

The demonstrations that were first sparked by a disputed election now have as much to do with the beatings and abuse that followed.

On the eve of the protests, masked security officers took the students off the streets of Minsk and into police vans during a demonstration. Dozens of protesters were arrested.

Also on Saturday, top opposition activist Olga Kovalkova said she had taken refuge in Poland, adding that she would have faced a lengthy jail sentence if she had not agreed to leave Belarus.

She added that security forces took her to a border post where she was able to board a bus to Poland after the driver recognized her.

Ms. Tikhanovskaya, 37, represented the main opposition to Lukashenko in the elections: she entered the presidential race after her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky and another candidate were imprisoned.

He said the opposition demanded an end to police violence, the immediate release of all political prisoners and free and fair elections.

UN Special Rapporteur on Belarus, Anais Marin, said that Lukashenko’s re-election as president was “completely rigged” and that “the votes of the people were stolen.”

He accused the Belarusian police of torture and cited as an example a 16-year-old boy who was “so beaten that he was left in a coma.”

“The authorities must release all those arbitrarily detained,” he said. “The government is waging a mad war against its own people.”

Lukashenko has blamed some EU nations, notably neighboring Poland and Lithuania, for trying to force regime change.

The 66-year-old, whose key sponsor is Russia, has vowed to defend Belarus. He was recently seen near his residence in Minsk carrying a weapon and surrounded by his heavily armed security personnel.