Belarus police admit resorting to riot control measures against protestors in Minsk

Belarus police on Sunday, November 22, admitted to using riot control tactics to arrest people involved in unauthorised protests in the national capital of Minsk. Police have been using tear gas, smoke grenades, stun, water cannons, and rubber bullets to control the protests across the country.

"Police officers used riot-control equipment to arrest people who violated public order and offered resistance, including in Minsk," Belarusian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova told news agency Sputnik.

Anti-Lukashenko protest

Belarusian media also showed footage of bright flashes and thick smoke filling the air near a crowd of protestors who gathered outside of a metro station in western Minsk before marching downtown. Further, the Interior Ministry stated that the number of demonstrators had been lessening from week to week. Thousands of people have been protesting across Belarus against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko on August 9 following allegations of rigged elections.

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140 people arrested across the country

According to Belarusian human rights group Viasna, more than 140 people were arrested across the country on Sunday and many of them beaten by police during protests. The protests that attracted thousands across the country were the 16th consecutive Sunday of large protests against President Lukashenko. More than 19,000 people have been detained and thousands of them beaten throughout the protest wave, human rights advocates said.

The protestors on Sunday tried to reduce detentions and police dispersals by initially gathering in various parts of the capital Minsk, but were met by police when they tried to converge on the center. Anti-government rallies were also staged in Brest, Pinsk, Grodno, Navapolatsk, and Zaslauje. 

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(With ANI Inputs)