280 people detained in Belarus during Sunday protests
The Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the detention of 280 people during the protests on Sunday, October 18.
Among those, 215 were detained in Minsk, Belta reports.
Of those detained, 237 remain in custody pending court reviews of administrative offence cases opened against them.
"Partisan March" - another protest with a demand to review the results of the presidential elections in Belarus and release political prisoners - was held in Minsk on October 18. Tens of thousands of people took part in the action. The policemen fired rubber bullets into the air several times as demonstrators threw stones at them.
On October 17, students and women marched in Minsk. About 60 detainees were reported.
Mass protests in Belarus have been going on since August 9. The demonstrators oppose the results of the presidential elections, according to which Alexander Lukashenko won.
During the protests, three people were killed, more than 13,500 people were detained, and the protesters were subject to torture by the police. Belarusian human rights activists have recognized almost 100 people as political prisoners. In mid-September, six of the seven members of the Coordinating Council were detained or expelled from the country. Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich remained at large.
The European Union imposed sanctions against 50 Belarusian officials. On October 13, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported that Kyiv will join the first wave of EU sanctions against the Belarusian authorities, but the decision on personal sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko has not been made yet.