MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2020) Belarusian telecommunications provider A1 said on Sunday it was forced to lower the quality of internet access in capital Minsk amid ongoing mass opposition rallies.
"In accordance with an order of authorized state bodies on October 18, mobile Internet bandwidth was reduced in Minsk. Fulfillment of this requirement leads to a deterioration in the quality of the data transmission service or temporary unavailability of the service," the operator wrote on Twitter.
The mass rally in Minsk is the 10th consecutive on Sunday that draws large crowds in protest of the disputed August 9 presidential election.
The city's police service reported that several were detained at the unauthorized rallies, but refrained from providing details. Non-official human rights center Viasna reported at least 18 detained in the capital and six others in the city of Svietlahorsk.
Images and video shared on social media show a large rally transpiring peacefully, with thousands marching down blocked highways in Minsk.
Nationwide protests have been ongoing in Belarus since the presidential election in which President Alexander Lukashenko claimed sixth term, something the opposition immediately disputed, insisting the results were fraudulent and that underdog opposition figure Svetlana Tikhanovskaya indeed won the election.
