Second night of protests: Police violence, more injuries, death confirmed
A protester reportedly died last night during a violent clash between demonstrators and riot police in Prytycki Avenue in Minsk, according to the authorities. The Interior Ministry said the man was killed after he tried to cast a self-made bomb. However, the information is not confirmed by any evidence.
The incident happened after riot police used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of demonstrators, one of a series simultaneous protests that happened in several locations in the capital and in other cities of Belarus. Tens of thousands reportedly attended in dozens of cities.
- Injured protester in Minsk. August 10, 2020. Photo: Vadzim Zamirouski/tut.by
Hundreds were detained and taken to police departments. However, in many cases, their whereabouts and the exact number of detainees remain unknown, as the country continues to experience unprecedented Internet disruption and the authorities do not report on the scale of repression.
For a second night in a row, dozens of protesters suffer injuries, including serious ones. Natallia Lubneuskaya, a reporter of the news site nn.by, said a rubber bullet hit her leg. Several journalists, including those working with foreign media, were detained. Some of them are still missing, in particular, Illya Pitalyov, a photo reporter for the Russia Today news agency, Yahor Martsinovich, nn.by chief editor, and Maksim Solopov, a journalist of medusa.io news site.
- Journalist Nattalia Lubneuskaya was hit in the leg. Witnesses say KGB troops aimed at reporters despite them wearing marked vests. August 10, 2020. Photo: Uladz Hrydzin/svaboda.org
As of this morning, Viasna knows the names of some 600 people detained over the past two days.
UPD. Around 2,000 people, "including protesters", were detained last night, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Up to 500 protesters were detained in Homiel alone, svaboda.org said after talking to the detainees' families.