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Police violently arrest elderly vendors at marketplace in Pinsk

 

At least four elderly people were violently arrested by police for selling berries and mushrooms without a permit at a marketplace in Pinsk, Brest region, on July 7.

A video showing five athletic police grabbing the elderly and bundling them inside police vehicles was posted on the Internet on Wednesday. At one point a policeman was seen grabbing an old woman by her legs and pushing her inside one of the vehicles.

The incident was witnessed by a crowd of scores of people who visibly disapproved of the police's brutality.

The Brest regional police department said on Thursday that it would investigate the incident.

According to the police's statement, three people, a 56-year-old man and two women aged 64, were brought to a police station. On July 9, a judge of the Pinsk District and Pinsk City Court sentenced the man to a fine of two million rubels ($230) on a charge of interfering into the handling of a civil offense case. The women were charged with violating trade rules and disobeying police officers but had not appeared in court as of Thursday morning. // BelaPAN