On the day of the presidential elections in Belarus, more than 120 people were detained, the human rights center Viasna reported on August 9 on its Telegram channel.
It is noted that half of them were detained in Minsk. Most of them are observers at polling stations, activists and journalists.
Human rights activists also recorded arrests in Baranovichi, Bobruisk, Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Zhlobin and Polotsk.
Over the past three months of the election campaign, according to the center, more than 1,500 people were detained. More than 600 of them received administrative arrests and fines “under politically motivated articles.” There are 23 new political prisoners in the country, according to the organization’s website.
On the same day in the capital, two correspondents and an operator of the Dozhd TV channel were detained. Later it became known that the journalists did not have the appropriate accreditation, and later they were deported to the Russian Federation.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9. According to the preliminary results of the voting, the current head of state is gaining 81.35% of the vote.
After that, protests by opposition supporters began in a number of cities.