Hundreds in Warsaw protest against political repression in Belarus
- The protest was held on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Belarus presidential election of Alexander Lukashenko that protesters consider rigged
- In front of the Russian embassy, speakers accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for the repressions in Belarus
Hundreds of people, among them many Belarusians living in exile in Poland, marched on Sunday in Warsaw to protest political repression in neighbouring Belarus — a demonstration held on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Belarus presidential election that they consider rigged.
Many carried the Belarusian opposition’s red-and-white flag, which is banned in Belarus, and chanted “Long live Belarus!”
The protest focused on the August 9, 2020 presidential election in Belarus in which President Alexander Lukashenko was awarded a sixth term in a vote that the opposition and many in the West view as fraudulent.
A belief that the vote was stolen triggered mass protests in Belarus that led to increased repressions by Lukashenko’s regime on protesters, dissidents and independent media. More than 35,000 people were arrested and thousands were beaten and jailed.
The protesters began in central Warsaw and marched past the US and Russian embassies, aiming for the Belarusian embassy in a southern Warsaw district.