The Russian Embassy in Belarus calls on the staff of the Russian media to be extremely careful when carrying out professional activities against the background of protests in the republic, a representative of the diplomatic mission said on Tuesday, August 11.
“We urge the representatives of the Russian media to be extremely careful in carrying out their professional activities, to avoid crowds of people whenever possible. We also remind you that carrying out journalistic activities without accreditation is a violation of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, “RIA Novosti quotes him.
He also added that the Russian Embassy in Minsk is taking all the necessary measures to establish the facts of the detention of Russian citizens in order to provide them with assistance around the clock.
The presidential elections in Belarus took place on August 9. According to the CEC, the current leader of the country, Alexander Lukashenko, received 80.08% of the vote, while his rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya – 10.09%. The third place was taken by the “candidate against all”. The turnout in the elections was 84%, Gazeta.ru writes.
Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters did not recognize the official data of the CEC. She believes that data from polling stations in all regions of the state show her results in 70-80%.
After the announcement of the preliminary results, unauthorized protests began in Minsk and other cities of Belarus, which resumed in the evening of August 10. The protesters erected barricades from garbage cans. The police used tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades against them.
A number of Russian journalists who arrived in Belarus to cover the presidential elections and protests were reportedly detained. Contact was lost with the detained media workers.