Many students from leading universities in the capital are detained, according to the Human Rights Centre “Vesna”.
More than 100 people were detained in Belarus during the protest actions on Monday morning. This was reported by the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” unregistered by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic.
“The list of human rights defenders includes more than 100 names at 13:30, it is being replenished. The largest number of detainees in Minsk and Grodno is in Brest, Novopolotsk and Borisov”, – reads the report.
Among the detainees there are many students from the leading universities of the capital, who supported the opposition’s call for a national strike and hold protests around the city. In Minsk during the day people are building up in the so-called chains of solidarity. One of the long chains of several hundred people is lined up next to the High Technology Park. According to eyewitness accounts, law enforcement officers arrived at the scene and dispersed the protesters using special means. Several people were detained.
The press service of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee’s Department of Internal Affairs on Monday confirmed that police officers had detained several people at the Grodno Azot passageway for taking part in an unsanctioned event. Eyewitnesses also reported on the detention of solidarity chain members in Minsk.
On October 25, the deadline for the ultimatum, which was put forward by former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and her supporters, expired. The demands of the opposition included the resignation of the President of Belarus, as well as the release of those who are considered political prisoners by opponents of the current government. On Monday, the opposition called for strikes at industrial enterprises. At the same time, the press secretary of the Prime Minister, Alexandra Isayeva, said that the Belarusian enterprises are working in a normal mode, production has not stopped.