Protest action in Minsk calling for the release of political prisoners
Thousands of Belarusians today honoured the memory of Viktor Gonchar and Anatoly Krasovsky who disappeared in Belarus on 16 September 1999, exactly seven years ago
On 16 September in the centre of Minsk the Belarusian opposition held a sanctioned protest action in which they demanded that all political prisoners, including the former presidential candidate Aleksandr Kazulin, be released.
The police surrounded the rally location, but did not interfere.
According to some reports, up to 40 people tried to hold an unsanctioned picket in support of the leader of the opposition organization “Molodoi Front” [“Young Front”] Dmitry Dashkevich who was detained on Friday.
According to information from Interfax, the picketers were dispersed. Some western news agencies suggest that 10 people were arrested.