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Dozens detained at protest rally in Minsk - Belarusian rights activists

21 July 2011 03:26 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Police detained dozens of people, including a Russian national, at a protest rally in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Wednesday, Belarusian human rights center Vesna reported, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

The detainees face fines or short jail terms, known in Russia and other former Soviet states as "administrative arrests."

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

Plainclothes police officers have been cracking down on protesters and journalists, arresting hundreds of people during recent demonstrations.

Belarusian Prosecutor General Grigory Vasilevich on Wednesday called on the country’s police to respect the rights of journalists amid ongoing protests.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists said more than 80 journalists who covered recent rallies have been detained in the country over the last weeks. Many of them had their equipment broken by police officers.