Belarus arrests 100 opposition supporters

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Monday, 20 February: 16.20 CET) – More than 100 opposition supporters have been arrested in Belarusian capital, Minsk, during protest rallies calling for a free and fair presidential election next month.

News agencies reported that the majority of those detained were supporters of opposition leader Aleksandar Milinkevich, who will run against long-time President Aleksandar Lukashenko on 19 March.

The protesters scheduled the weekend rally to celebrate Milinkevich’s registration as a candidate for presidential elections.

On Friday, the country’s electoral commission officially registered Milinkevich, along with Lukashenka, Liberal Democratic Party leader Syarhey Haydukevich, and Social Democratic Party leader Aleksandar Kazulin.

Lukashenka is seeking a third term in office and is expected to win the elections by a landslide.

The EU and the US have voiced concern over whether the vote will be free and fair.

On 16 February, police arrested around 20 people and dispersed the 100 others in a rally protesting Lukashenko’s rule.

Also last week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that a court in Belarus sentenced opposition leader Syarhey Skrabets to two and half years in prison for corruption.
Skrabets, a former member of parliament, was arrested in May last year. Human rights groups say the charges against him are trumped up and politically motivated.

The opposition leader was slated to run against Lukashenko in next month’s presidential elections, but withdrew from the race in mid-January, along with several other opposition candidates, saying the vote would not be free and fair.

Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994, and has made it clear that recent revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine that ousted long-time leaders, would not be tolerated in Belarus.