Some 200 supporters of unregistered presidential candidates detained in Minsk
MINSK. July 15 (Interfax) - At least 200 people were detained in Minsk as of Wednesday morning for taking part in unauthorized rallies supporting potential presidential candidates, who had been denied registration by the Belarusian Central Elections Commission, the unregistered human rights center Viasna said.
Some 70 people were detained as of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Viasna has published a list of names of all detainees and continues to update it.
Detentions of another 30 people have been reported in other cities of Belarus.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Association of Journalists reported the detention of over ten mass media workers in the line of duty, while covering street protests.
"Journalists providing direct coverage of the events were detained during the protests," the Association said in a statement. The journalists were rapidly released without bringing any charges, it said.
According to the report, journalists of Euroradio, the Internet portal tut.by, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Novy Chas, and Belsat were detained in Minsk. The association reported the detention of BBC cameraman Andy Smythe, who was released from a police station one hour later without any charges.
People took to the central avenue of Minsk on Tuesday evening. Drivers blew horns to support the protesters, and the police closed a number of streets for traffic. Several metro stations were closed after 10 p.m., and lights were out in some areas of Independence Avenue.
On Tuesday, the Belarusian Central Elections Commission refused to register former banker Viktor Babariko and former High-Tech Park head Valery Tsepkalo as presidential candidates. Registration was granted to five aspirants, namely, incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, former parliamentary member Anna Kanopatskaya, Hramada Belarusian Social Democratic Assembly Chairman Sergei Cherechen, Tell the Truth Association Co-chairman Andrei Dmitriyev, and wife of detained blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
On Tuesday evening, the Belarusian Interior Ministry warned of the inadmissibility of unsanctioned demonstrations and called on residents of the republic to take a reasonable approach to the calls for taking to the street.
"The Interior Ministry notes that a number of Internet resources and users stationed outside the Republic of Belarus are calling on citizens to gather on city streets of our country for unsanctioned actions," the ministry's press service said.
The Interior Ministry assured that the police would do their best to keep public peace and to stop illegal actions. "Any provocations will be stopped in accordance with current laws," the statement said.
The Belarusian presidential election will take place on August 9.
