Europe

Europe

Belarusian activist says about 100 jailed over Sunday protests

04 July 2011 21:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Some 100 protesters in Belarus were tried on Monday for taking part in unsanctioned rallies in Minsk and other cities, human rights activist Anastasia Loiko said, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

Most of the protesters were sent to jails for terms between five and 15 days, she said. Only two people were given financial penalties, including the mother of a handicapped child.

One of the accused managed to prove that he was not taking part in the protest, she added.

Some 380 people were arrested in Belarus during Sunday’s rallies, the Vesna human rights center said on Monday. "Over 200 people were arrested in Minsk," Vesna said. "About 180 people were arrested in other Belarusian cities."

A new wave of protests in Minsk and other cities on Sunday saw police use tear gas to break up a protest in Minsk in which demonstrators clapped over an Independence Day speech by President Alexander Lukashenko, repeating recent midweek protests organized on social networking websites.

Belarus has seen unprecedented economic and political turmoil in recent months, as increasingly frequent protests against the 17-year reign of the authoritarian Lukashenko have combined with a 36% devaluation of the national currency.