The Russian Union of Journalists has lodged a strong protest to the Belarusian authorities in connection with detention of Russian reporters covering violent protests in the country, the union said in a statement on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2020) The Russian Union of Journalists has lodged a strong protest to the Belarusian authorities in connection with detention of Russian reporters covering violent protests in the country, the union said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The Russian Union of Journalists lodges a strong protest to the Belarusian authorities in connection with the behavior of the security forces against our colleagues. According to eyewitnesses, the Belarusian police and riot police act with extreme cruelty against reporters. Journalists are beaten, expensive equipment is broken, and personal belongings are seized. The Union considers such practices of the Belarusian authorities absolutely unacceptable and demands that violence against media representatives be stopped immediately," the statement reads.
Protests erupted in Minsk and other Belarusian cities following the controversial presidential election on Sunday. Police used water cannons, stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse people who took to the streets to protest the landslide victory by incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko. Thousands of people were arrested and many journalists, both local and foreign, were detained, deported, assaulted or simply went missing.
Particularly, several Russian media outlets, including Sputnik Belarus, RT, Dozhd (also known as tv Rain), Meduza and Daily Storm, have said that their reporters were detained in Minsk. Some were later released. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is personally overseeing the situation around the reporters' detention.
