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Over 30 People Detained Across Belarus at Saturday Opposition Rallies - Reports

MINSK (Sputnik) - More than 30 people have been detained during Saturday opposition protests held across Belarus, the non-governmental human rights centre Viasna reports.
Sputnik

According to the latest update on the centre's website, 33 people have been taken in by police at unauthorised anti-government demonstrations on Saturday. A vast majority of the detentions took place in the capital city of Minsk.

Around 150 people reportedly gathered for an unauthorised rally in Grodno on Saturday. Police dispersed the demonstrators, detaining several people.

On Tuesday, the Belarusian capital of Minsk witnessed a number of locally-organised protest rallies. The Minsk City Police press service told Sputnik that 11 participants of the healthcare workers protest in the Belarusian capital on Tuesday were taken to the city police office for debriefing.

Om Monday, over 360 people were detained in Belarus when opposition activists attempted to instigate a nationwide strike, according to Viasna.

Opposition rallies have been held every weekend in Belarus since the disputed 9 August election, which saw incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko claim a sixth term. The opposition declared that the results were fabricated and that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had won the vote.

On 13 October, ex-Belarusian presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya warned that all enterprises across the country would start a strike if Lukashenko did not resign within 13 days. Last Sunday, Tikhanovskaya announced that the opposition would start a nationwide strike beginning on Monday, after the president failed to meet the opposition's demand.

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