Hundreds of police and army were out in force to try and
stop the so-called March of Justice going ahead. Late in the day, uniformed men
in balaclavas began arresting demonstrators and more than 100 people were
detained, according to rights group Viasna. It said at least 80 were arrested
in the capital Minsk, with at least 47 people held elsewhere in the country.
Authorities had closed metro stations in Minsk and mobile internet services
were down in an attempt to stop the demonstrators.
In response to the latest escalation of violence, an online
messaging channel with more than two million subscribers published a list of
names, birthdays and addresses of more than 1000 police officers.
Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is holding
talks with EU foreign ministers in Brussels - as the EU prepares sanctions
against the Belarusian government. The bloc has a list of around 40 Belarusian
officials who it blames for abuses of power against ongoing anti-government
protests, as well as electoral fraud in last month's disputed elections. But
the sanctions have so far been held up by Cyprus - which is demanding the EU
take measures against Turkey in a separate dispute. Earlier German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
called for the bloc to discuss imposing sanctions on Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko himself.
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