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At least 10 people arrested during or following officially sanctioned Chernobyl anniversary demonstration in Minsk

At least 10 people were arrested during or following the “Charnobylski Shlyakh” (Path of Chernobyl) demonstration, an officially sanctioned event staged by opposition and environmental groups in Minsk on Friday evening to mark the 27th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

According to Vyasna, a human rights organization, those arrested and taken to the detention center on Akrestsina Street included, among others, Alyaksandr Tarnahurski and Dzmitry Charnyak of an opposition group called European Belarus, journalists Henadz Barbarych and Alyaksandr Yarashevich, and Ihar Trukhanovich, a member of an anarchist group who was severely beaten by plainclothesmen during his arrest. The detainees are expected to be held in the detention center until their trials on Monday.

Iryna Arakhowskaya and Aksana Rudovich, reporters for the private newspaper Nasha Niva who filmed the brutal arrest of Mr. Trukhanovich, were arrested while they were standing at a bus stop. They were taken to the Savetski district police station but were soon released without charge.

Prior to the demonstration, police arrested a group of anti-nuke activists who included persons expected to be key speakers at the event. Iryna Sukhi, Volha Kanavalava, Vasil Semyanikhin and Kanstantsin Kirylenka were arrested at about 6 p.m., as soon as they left Ms. Sukhi’s apartment. All of them were released without charge after the demonstration was over. //BelaPAN