9/20/2020 Belarus protests: Opposition icon, 73, among hundreds detained in Minsk - BBC News

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Belarus protests: Opposition icon, 73, among

hundreds detained in Minsk
20 hours ago

Belarusian presidential election 2020

TUT.BY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Nina Bahinskaya was detained at the women's march in Minsk

Belarus police have detained hundreds of women in the capital Minsk who
had joined a march demanding that longtime President Alexander
Lukashenko resign.

Men in green uniforms and black balaclavas encircled female protesters who
shouted, "Only cowards beat women!"

Among the detained was Nina Bahinskaya a 73-year-old great-grandmother

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9/20/2020 Belarus protests: Opposition icon, 73, among hundreds detained in Minsk - BBC News
Among the detained was Nina Bahinskaya, a 73-year-old great-grandmother
who has become an icon of the protest movement.

Mass protests are expected for the sixth straight Sunday over what was widely
seen as a rigged election.

President Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, claimed an

overwhelming victory in the 9 August poll, but a brutal crackdown on initial
protests against the result only fuelled popular anger.

Europe's longest-serving ruler under fire

What's happening in Belarus?

'Breathing freedom': Belarusians hope for change

Around 2,000 people, mostly women, joined Saturday's march, which has
become a weekly prelude to mass demonstrations every Sunday. They briefly
scuffled with police who then blocked their path and started picking people
one by one.

Police detained so many protesters that they ran out of room in vans and had
to free some of the women, according to AFP news agency. It reported that Ms
Bahinskaya was taken to a police station and released shortly aerwards.

Video posted by the independent Tut.by website showed a masked officer

abruptly removing the flag and flowers she was carrying as she was pushed
into a van.

In total, more than 300 women were detained, local human rights group
Viasna said. Police did not give a number.

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9/20/2020 Belarus protests: Opposition icon, 73, among hundreds detained in Minsk - BBC News

A 73-year-old great-grandmother has turned into an unlikely hero for demonstrators in Belarus

The opposition movement has been led by three women but only one, Maria
Kolesnikova, has not gone into exile. She was charged with incitement to
undermine national security days aer allegedly ripping up her passport
when the authorities tried to expel her from the country.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who stood against Mr Lukashenko as the opposition

candidate, said she won the election and was forced to flee to Lithuania
shortly aerwards. She is expected to meet European Union foreign ministers
and the bloc's diplomatic chief in Brussels on Monday.

The third of the three women, Veronika Tsepkalo, has also le the country, a
former Soviet republic.

The EU is considering fresh sanctions on the Lukashenko government because

of the crackdown on the protests. According to UN Special Rapporteur Anaïs
Marin, more than 10,000 peaceful protesters have been "abusively arrested"
and "over 500 cases of torture, committed by state agents" have been
reported.

Mr Lukashenko says the demonstrations are backed by foreign powers and has
offered to implement constitutional reforms but, so far, has refused to step
down. Earlier this month, he secured a $1.5bn (£1.2bn) loan from Russia..

Related Topics

Alexander Lukashenko Minsk Belarus Belarusian presidential election 2020

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