Live Feed | 11 Oct

11 October 2020 | Infocenter Free Belarus 2020

Good morning! Today is the 64th day of the protests.

8:59 am Independence Square in Minsk has already been blocked. A convoy of buses with security forces has been seen in the centre. Seems like the authorities have started getting ready for the March of Honour that is to take place in Minsk and other cities today.

9:30 am Last night, Vladimir Kavalkin, founder of the Petitions.by project was detained. Today is his birthday.

10:00 am Anor Langar, an employee of the UN Office in Belarus, was detained yesterday. The reason for the detention is still unknown.

10:49 am Legendary Natalya Novozhilova has come to help the Vityaz-Leon handball club. The club was eliminated from the championship for their civic position. As they were left without a training base, they are now training in Natalya’s fitness centre.

10:51 am Belsat journalist Yevgeniy Merkis has been released. He was detained on 14 September and sentenced to 15 days in prison. The journalist was to be released on 29 September, but was kept behind bars to serve 12 more days of administrative detention that he was sentenced to in August. In total, he had been detained for 27 days.

10:53 am Security officials are bringing special equipment to Minsk. On social networks, people say that they have seen armoured vehicles with machine guns. Hopefully, there is some mistake in the messages. Normally, machine guns are not carried in water cannons but you can never be sure today…

11:36 am The leader of the Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ) strike committee and a member of the Coordination Council, Siarhei Dyleuski, has resigned “by his own volition”. He had worked at MTZ for 12 years. However, his comment led us to believe it wasn’t really voluntary, but under duress.

“For managers, guys, forcing someone to quit their jobs by blackmailing their parents is the lowest and most inhuman thing that one can imagine,” he said when commenting on his dismissal.

12:29 pm The website of the Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Chemistry has been blocked by Cyber ​​Partisans.

12:32 pm Security forces officers and new fencing have emerged by the Palace of the Republic.

12:37 pm Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs Volha Chamadanava has said today that due to numerous calls for protest actions,  the police are on duty in alert mode. She has confirmed that subject to how the situation develops, they might use additional special-purpose vehicles.

12:42 pm According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, at least 25 people were detained in Belarus yesterday.

1:00 pm Makayonka Street in Minsk has been fully blocked by the security forces. TUT.by reports that checkpoints of 2 policemen and military men with a dog have been set up at each side of the Belurusian National TV and Radio Company’s building.

1:17 pm A member of Tsikhanouskaya’s headquarters, Anton Stashevsky, was detained last night.

1:29 pm TASS photographer Natalya Fedosenko has been detained

1:35 pm Two more TASS employees, Gavriil Grigorov and Valery Stepchenkov, have been detained. Each of them is duly authorised.

1:46 pm Social network users report that police are checking the backpacks of the people by the Minsk Hero City Stele. Some people have been detained.

1:55 pm Police keep detaining journalists.

Elena Tolkacheva (TUT.by), Tatiana Korovenkova and Sergei Satsyuk (BelaPAN), Dmitry Dmitriev (Novy Chas) and Yuri Shamshur (TASS) are now being taken to the Oktyabrsky police department “to have their documents checked”.

The detained journalists have also said that press photographer Andrey Pokumeiko and journalist Oksana Manchuk from BELTA are being taken with them.

1:58 pm The riot police ran up to a cyclist and pushed him off the bike. After that, the man and his bike were taken to a minibus.

1:59 pm It’s been reported that in five minutes, the mobile Internet will be disconnected in Minsk.

2:07 pm At least one woman has been detained near the Niamiha metro station. There have been more pinpoint detentions near the Galleria shopping center and the Stele.

2:11 pm TASS employees Natalya Fedosenko, Gavriil Grigorov and Valery Stepchenkov have been released after the police checked their documents.

Some of the other journalists detained today are Anastasia Boyko, Alyaksei Ivashkevich and Zmitser Mitskevich. All of them are now in the Oktyabrsky police department.

2:29 pm Journalists Alexander Ruzhechka, Alexander Vladyko and Alexei Nosov have been detained. They all were wearing “Press” vests and had all the relevant documents.

2:44 pm The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) reports the arrests of Komsomolskaya Pravda photographer Svyatoslav Zorky and a journalist of the edition, Alesya Dobysh.

TASS correspondents Grigorov and Stepchenkov have been detained for the second time today. 

2:45 pm Police brutally dispersed people from near the Stele: people were standing in a chain and wouldn’t scatter, so the police started beating the protesters with batons.

2:51 pm An explosion of a flashbang grenade could be heard by the Stele; the security forces have used tear gas against the demonstrators.

3:00 pm According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, tear gas was not used against protesters in Minsk. Numerous videos confirm otherwise.

3:03 pm Journalists Darya Spivak, Marysya Kharkevich and Siarhei Ludkevich have been detained in Hrodna. 

3:05 pm Frunzenskaya and Molodezhnaya metro stations are currently shut down. 

3:07 pm TUT.BY and BelaPAN correspondent Tatsiana Matveeva and TUT.BY and Narodnaya Volya correspondent Ales Piletsky have been detained in Vitsebsk. Previously, they were detained during the march a week ago.

3:10 pm Two columns of protesters tried to connect between the Minsk Hero City Stele and the Sports Palace.

Meanwhile, the head of the Minsk OMON (riot police forces), Dzmitry Balaba, tried to give an interview to state ONT journalists near the Stele. People surrounded them and started chanting, “Get lost!” Immediately thereafter, police intensified their efforts at dispersing the demonstrators. The security forces used something similar to flashbang grenades, which was followed by an explosion, sparks and smoke. Then, firecrackers were thrown into the crowd of people and a laser light was aimed at the protesters near the Stele, Onliner reports.

3:12 pm @Nashaniva correspondents report that protesters blocked Masherov Street at the intersection with Timiryazev Street. A large column of demonstrators has also formed on Romanovskaya Sloboda.

3:15 pm BelaPAN journalist Ales Osiptsov has just been detained in Mahiliou.

3:20 pm @Belsat correspondent Dzmitry Mitskevich was charged with failure to obey a police officer.

3:24 pm Journalists Elena Bychkova (TUT.BY and Narodnaya Volya), Alyona Germanovich (BelaPAN) and Pavel Mitskevich (Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus) have been detained in Homel and it is unknown where they have been taken. 

3:28 pm Eyewitnesses report that a water cannon is stationed on Niamiha (still intact).

3:30 pm Security forces violently dispersed several thousand protesters in downtown Minsk. Still, people are continuing to gather: a large column of protesters has passed along Pobeditely Avenue, reached the intersection with Niamiha and turned towards Romanovskaya Sloboda. At the same time, the column marching along Romanovskaya Sloboda has merged with the column going from Kalvariiskaya Street. They are also moving towards the intersection with Niamiha.

3:33 pm @Belsat correspondents report that the water cannon stationed at the Pobeditely Avenue and Niamiha intersection is being used to pour paint on people. The police confirm that the water cannons are being used to disperse protesters.

3:40 pm The police also confirmed the use of flashbang grenades against the protesters in Minsk, although just a few minutes ago, they denied this. 

3:41 pm Security forces have cordoned off Masherov Avenue, using Rubezh assault barrage security enforcement vehicles, water cannons and security forces equipped with shields. They are using the water cannon to push the protesters along Masherov Avenue towards the Cascade complex. 

3:45 pm Following the unsuccessful dispersal of demonstrators, the people continue to gather near the Stele.  

3:52 pm Security forces have blocked off Lenin Street and dispersed people using water cannons on Niamiha and at the beginning of Pobeditely Avenue.

3:55 pm 10 buses full of plainclothes officers are patrolling Zybitskaya Street and the surrounding area.

4:00 pm Tens of thousands of people are marching in a column, the head of which has now reached Frunzensky District City Administration offices. The end of the column is still on the bridge. 

4:05 pm Security forces have begun walking around without masks! 

4:07 pm Brutal detentions of protesters are taking place on Romanovskaya Sloboda. A man, lying on the ground, was being held by three unidentified men in balaclavas. At this moment, a fourth unidentified man in a balaclava forcefully kicked the restricted person on the ground on his head.

4:10 pm Journalists continue to be arrested: Hrodna.life journalist Alena Kovalchuk was detained in Hrodna, as reported by the Belarusian Association of Journalists.

Human rights defenders have announced the names of 72 detained in different cities of Belarus and the list continues to be updated.

4:18 pm TUT.BY has published a video of the brutal detentions underway on Masherov Avenue. At first, water cannons were dispersing the crowd, and then people in helmets and balaclavas started brutally beating the protesters with batons. These video clips show how people in black, using their feet and batons, are beating unprotected and defenceless civilians lying on the ground and not offering any resistance.

4:20 pm On Niamiha, the security forces are demanding something from a car driver. A man who looks like the head of the Chief Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK), Mikalai Karpiankou, can be seen next to the car. The driver has been taken away, and a white-red-white flag was removed from the trunk of the car.

4:27 pm A @Nashaniva correspondent reports that demonstrators in Pushkinsky District are being dispersed with gunfire. Water cannons are also being used.

4:29 pm An @Onliner correspondent reports that he has heard an explosion near the Stele. According to him, it was “as if some serious object had exploded. I also see smoke.” TUT.BY is reporting that ambulances are heading towards the Stele monument. 

4:33 pm Loads of riot police trucks are seen on Masherov Avenue. Some of them have gone towards Pobeditely Avenue, while others have headed to Timiryazev Street.

4:38 pm A large number of security forces have left for Pushkinskaya station, where the people have come out and blocked Kalvariiskaya Street. 

4:40 pm TUT.BY readers report that a demining vehicle has been seen in front of the Planeta Hotel.

“A single minibus was stationed near the traffic light on Pobeditely Avenue, coming from Masherov Avenue. Something was thrown out of the bus on the lawn in front of the Planeta Hotel; it exploded and started spreading smoke. There was no one nearby. A man came out of the vehicle  and approached the explosion scene; he picked up something from the lawn, a second man ran up to him, coming from the hotel, they got into a bus, and it immediately left,”  said an eyewitness.

4:45 pm People are being brutally detained on Olshevsky and Pritytsky Street. 

4:47 pm All exits and entrances to Pushkinskaya station are closed.

4:51 pm Brutal detentions are reported on Zybistkaya Street, where a security officer in uniform pointed his weapon at a pedestrian and hit him.

4:53 pm Onliner journalists report that another column of several hundred people is moving along Gaya Street. There are many people in black in the column, holding signs with slogans about solidarity, and drummers are participating in the march. Also, a large bulldozer is moving next to the column. It is not clear whether it is moving with the protesters, but every time the column turns, the vehicle follows it.

4:57 pm Security forces are using force and taking white-red-white umbrellas from women. Keep in mind that the weather is overcast and it is drizzling in Minsk. 

4:59 pm Viasna Human Rights Centre reports the names of at least 105 people detained today throughout Belarus. 

5:02 pm A solidarity chain has formed near the Cascade residential complex where, just recently, the demonstrators were brutally dispersed. 

5:07 pm A newly recorded event – during the dispersal of protesters on Pushkin Street, the security forces fired paintball bullets at the protesters. 

5:11 pm Following the dispersal of demonstrators, solidarity chains are growing again in many districts around Minsk.

5:12 pm It is reported that specialised security equipment and machinery are moving again towards the Minsk Hero City Stele.

5:14 pm A column which was moving toward the Stele from Khoruzhei Street was dispersed a few minutes ago near the Russian Embassy. 

5:16 pm The protesters who are retreating from Kalvariiskaya Street are building barricades. 

5:17 pm TUT.BY reports that at least 35 journalists have been detained today across Belarus. 

5:19 pm Four unidentified men in masks are beating an unarmed person with police batons near the Korona shopping centre.

5:25 pm The head of the Chief Department for Combating Organised Crime and Corruption, Mikalai Karpiankou, personally took part in dispersing demonstrators today.

5:27 pm Photo correspondent of the Sputnik Russian news outlet Viktor Tolochko has been detained.

5:28 pm In Hrodna, journalists Volha Komyagina and Siarhei Ludkevich have been released from detention following the “verification of some documents”.

5:29 pm Hundreds of people continue to stay near the Pushkinskaya station; they are regularly blocking Prytistky Street from both sides.

5:38 pm Unidentified men detained Red Cross volunteers and took them to the Central District police station.

5:39 pm An impressive column of protesters is moving downtown towards the river embankment in Brest.

5:41 pm Security services have severely clashed with protesters near the Pushkinskaya metro station, which resulted in the security forces fleeing.

https://youtu.be/sgSkBMPEqyY

5:43 pm The musicians heading the column have reportedly been detained. This information was reported by Ihar Skorynin, a blogger and the father of one of the detained musicians, on his Facebook page.

5:45 pm Additionally, journalists Darya Spevak and Marysya Kharevich have been released. Their colleague, Alena Kovalchuk, remains at the police station.

5:46 pm A small column of protesters has been dispersed near the Pushkinskaya metro station, and security services are searching residential backyards for more protesters. Nasha Niva chief editor Yahor Martsinovich and photo correspondent Nadezhda Buzhan have also been detained there.

5:51 pm At least 17 people are known to have been detained in Brest, and the detentions are still underway.

5:53 pm Motolko.help Telegram channel reports that eggs were thrown at the security services in one of the residential courtyards in downtown Minsk.

5:57 pm Detentions are still ongoing near Korona shopping centre on Kalvariiskaya Street.

6:01 pm All Minsk metro stations were opened at 6pm.

6:03 pm Pavel Latushka on attempts to disperse today’s March of Honour: “Today, the regime has once again demonstrated its so-called readiness for a constructive dialogue: with regard to the peaceful protesters, advocating the dialogue in society; with regard to bringing to justice those responsible for human rights violations, human rights which are absolutely justified, legitimate rights of every citizen in any European country; those responsible for violence, assaults, detentions.

“Journalists who, according to the current legislation, have the right to cover all events happening in the country are being detained.”

6:10 pm According to our sources, human rights defenders currently know 180 names of people detained today by 6 pm. Most of them were detained in Minsk. Detentions also took place today in Hrodna, Brest, Vitsebsk, Mahiliou, Maladzyechna and Zhlobin. You can find the list here.

6:20 pm The Belarusian community in the Netherlands held a solidarity event #GoGirl in Eindhoven.

Belarusian women appealed to the women of the world asking for help. Following the recent events in the country, they were forced to take an active peacekeeping position, as the persecution of popular leaders, inhuman repressions, and torture of peaceful protesters began.

The demonstrations against violence, gathering together thousands of Belarusian women in white with flowers, became known all over the world as #womeninwhite. Lukashenko and his retinue, seeing a threat to his regime in the faces of brave Belarusian women, increased the pressure on them: traditional women’s demonstrations on Saturdays ended in mass detentions.

Eindhoven demonstration participants maintain that women’s solidarity knows no borders, and called on women all over the world to support their initiative in the fight for their rights and dignity.

The demonstrators came to the main city square of Eindhoven dressed in white and carrying white flowers. Due to restrictions imposed by the Dutch government because of Covid-19, the demonstration had 40 participants. 

6:23 pm Vitsebsk. Three hours after arrest, journalists Tatsiana Matveeva and Ales Piletsky were released from the police station. The police filed a record of their interview and personal examination.

Meanwhile, Belsat journalists Dmitry Kazakevich and Vyacheslav Lazarev have been held in the Pervomaysky police station for more than 4 hours already. BelaPAN and Narodnye Novosti Vitsebska photojournalist Sergey Serebro has been there for nearly 3 hours.

6:35 pm Detained journalists’ colleagues and families have gathered at the Oktyabrsky District police department in Minsk. A police officer in uniform came out of the building and confirmed that the journalists are being held there. So far, they have not been released. No explanation was given: “The proceedings are in progress.”

6:41 pm The Minsk Metro announced that all stations have been reopened. 

Let us remind you that before and during today’s March of Honour, the following metro stations had been closed: Niamiha, Kupalovskaya, Oktyabrskaya, Victory Square (from 1:35 pm), Lenin Square (from Independence Square, from 1:42 pm), Frunzenskaya, Molodyozhnaya (from 2:30 pm) and Pushkinskaya (from 4:27 pm).

6:52 pm TUT.BY readers report that the Internet has started working again in Minsk.

7:19 pm Human rights defenders’ estimates of the number of detainees have reached 250. A significant part of detainees are media representatives: according to Viasna’s information, around 40 journalists and photographers have been detained. Some of them have already been released. 

7:30 pm Minsk. At the Pushkinskaya metro station, people started rebuilding the community memorial to Aliaksandr Taraikouski. At some point, unknown people in balaclavas approached the group and tried to arrest a man. When the man did not agree to go with them, they started beating him with truncheons.

7:37 pm Minsk. Ambulances keep coming and leaving at the Moskovsky District police department, according to the Telegram channel of the independent doctors’ association, “White Robes”. 

7:52 pm The number of known detainees is growing: now it amounts to 290.

8:04 pm Brest. Detained BelaPAN journalists Ales Levchyuk and Milana Kharitonova are held in the Leninsky District police department. Ales was able to call his friends and report that they are charged with Article 23.34 (violating the order for organising or holding mass events), and that Milana felt unwell at the police station. She asked to call an ambulance for her.

8:25 pm Minsk. A Belsat journalist was taken to record his fingerprints. Let us remind you that he is charged with Article 23.4, that is, failure to obey the lawful demands of police officers. Meanwhile, the head of the Oktyabrsky District Public Security Police Department Aliaksandr Martinovich said to the detained journalists that “the decision regarding them has not yet been made”. Journalists are regularly taken out for a smoke. They asked to be given warm clothes and food, which have been brought by their colleagues waiting at the police station. The deliveries were allowed in.

8:40 pm Sunday evening protests in Minsk continue in the form of chains of solidarity. Residents line up along the roads with white-red-white flags, a TASS correspondent reports.

8:47 pm There are about 40 people in the Moskovsky District Police Department in Minsk. 8-10 of them are injured and were taken away by ambulances; the others’ conditions are not known, a TUT.BY reader reports. According to preliminary information, one person was brought to the police department with concomitant injuries: moderate head injury, a closed rib fracture, and a bruised shoulder. Another person has bone fractures in both arms, mild brain injury, and a clavicle fracture. According to the victims, they were severely beaten after being boarded on a bus, also threatened with a gun (rifle), and were not told what was wanted of them, were not asked any questions, just beaten.

8:57 pm In Hrodna, the finals of the local amateur ice hockey league was played. The teams, Avangard and Legion, began the match with a demonstration of solidarity: after the starting face-off, the players stopped the game and began to applaud.

9:29 pm In Brest, no fewer than 25 people were detained during the March of Honour, said BelaPAN human rights defender Roman Kislyak. 

9:39 pm The March of Honour did not take place in Homel today; 20 people were detained. 

The gathering place, Lenin Square, was cordoned off by riot police and officers of other police units. About 50 people walked in small groups. The first to be detained were journalists from the BelaPAN information company and the newspapers, Narodnaya Volya and Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus.

At the park exit, Aliaksandr Shkut, the well-known “teacher of all Homel journalists” (he used to teach journalism at school), was detained. He was taking pictures of squirrels in the park.

Five people were detained on Sozhskaya Street. They were sitting in a car with red and white balloons. They were on their way to celebrate their friends’ engagement. They were taken to the Central District Police Department. Among the detainees was Natalya Suslova, a teacher at Francysk Skaryna Homel State University. She has already served eight days of detention for participating in an unauthorised event. Now, she has been sent to a temporary detention centre.

9:53 pm In Mahiliou, the police did not allow the protesters to hold the March of Honour this Sunday. The traditional gathering place for the participants – the area in front of the Atrium shopping centre – was controlled by riot police. Minibuses with security forces stood nearby, and from time to time, prisoner transporters drove up.

In the neighbouring courtyards there were many vehicles with armed police. A drone was hovering over the central street of Pervomayskaya.

On the square in front of the Atrium shopping centre, several dozen people were gathered who showed no signs of protest. Police officers approached them and warned of the possibility of arrest; police were taking video recordings.

There were many potential protesters in the square and streets adjacent to the square, but they were careful not to gather in a column; they watched the police movement from afar.

10:10 pm After Lukashenko’s visit to the KGB pre-trial detention centre and his meeting with opposition leaders, two of them: the PandaDoc director  Rabtsevich and the head of Viktar Babaryka’s headquarters Voskresensky – had their sentences changed. They are released from the pre-trial detention centre, and put under house arrest.

This information was announced on the TV programme “Main Ether” on the Belarus 1 TV channel.

10:33 pm The names of 680 detained demonstrators are already known. The total number of detainees is likely much higher. The events of 11 October are reminiscent of the situation on 9-11 August.

11:00 pm Drivers have blocked traffic in Serebryanka. The pedestrian protesters hold Chizhovka and Grushevka. The Moscow Ring Road is blocked from the side of Angarskaya Street. Half of the city is in the streets. 

11:04 pm OMON has come to Kamennaya Gorka district; people are trying to run away from them through the metro passage.

11:06 pm Mikita, the brother of the three-time Olympic biathlon champion, Belarusian heroine Daria Domracheva, was detained today during the protests. Domracheva herself remains silent about the situation in the country.

11:20 pm People of the Minsk-Mir residential complex blocked their street too.

11:22 pm It is possible that the head of the most famous private ophthalmology clinic, “New Vision”, Vadim Murashko was detained.

11:24 pm Gunshots have been heard in two Minsk districts: Malinauka and Kamennaya Gorka; probably that was rubber bullets.

11:31 pm At the moment, gunshots and explosions are heard; people are being dispersed near the Riga supermarket. Protests took over Minsk. It resembles the events of the first days of the revolution, 9-11 August.

11:33 pm People confront the security forces in the Serebryanka district. The protesters threw stones at a police minibus, breaking the windows.

11:39 pm A large demonstration has gathered in the Slepyanka district in Minsk.

11:44 pm In Serebryanka, the protesters are burning tires!

11:45 pm At the intersection of Rokossovsky Street and Plekhanov Street, people blocked the traffic with street benches. 

11:47 pm Administrative cases were opened against all 15 journalists who are currently in the Oktyabrsky District police department, the Minsk police press service representative said. From what he said, it seems they will not be released tonight. Near the police department, their families, friends and colleagues are waiting – about 70 people in total.

11:50 pm Two charges were brought against Belsat journalist Zmitser Mitskevich: “failure to obey the police” and “violation of the legislation of public events”. He remains in police custody.

11:58 pm Cadets of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are brought to the city to disperse the protesters. This can be seen on the video published on Nasha Niva. Has OMON grown tired? Some of the cadets might, theoretically, be minors.

12:00 am The worst confrontation is taking place on the Plekhanov-Rokossovsky intersection. A fire engine came to extinguish the burning tires and help the security forces. People are throwing water bottles at them. 

12:09 am A solidarity chain has formed in the Tractor Plant district.

12:10 am Gunshots in the Malinauka district, near the bison statue. Minibuses are chasing people on sidewalks!

12:14 am Onliner.by journalist Aliaksandr Vladyko was released from police custody. He was charged with “failure to obey the police” and his work equipment was confiscated. The other fourteen journalists have not been released so far.

12:26 am A lot of doctors were detained today. Ophthalmologist Vadim Murashko and pediatric maxillofacial surgeon Andrey Lyubetsky are among them. These are some of the most talented doctors in the country, who saved the lives and health of thousands of people. All of them are now in pre-trial detention. Lyubetsky has four little children. 

12:30 am Onliner.by journalist Denis Nosov was also released from police custody; his work equipment was confiscated and he was charged with “failure to obey the police”. Dozens of people, in spite of the late hour and the cold, keep waiting for their colleagues and friends.

12:34 am Ophthalmologist Vadim Murashko was transported to the Zhodzina pre-trial detention centre. He will be put on trial.

12:38 am Legalise Belarus campaign activist Mikhas Vorontsov was detained.

12:44 am There are already 500 names on the Viasna Human Rights Centre’s detainees list, and the list keeps growing.

12:56 am In spite of brutal suppression of regions during the day, the evening protests were still held there: in Mahiliou, in Hrodna, in Homel, and even in the small city of Lida.

1:00 am Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the new phase of violence against the Belarusian people:

“I am not sleeping, just like all Belarusians now. Hundreds of detainees, mass beatings, blood – that’s the only response they are capable of. In these two months, we have paid a terrible price for our freedom. But there are more of us, and we will achieve our goal. You know what to do.”

1:08 am The ex-wife of one of the leading Belarusian IT entrepreneurs Yuri Gurski, Irina, was found killed in Cyprus, in the city of Limassol. She was 36 years old. Her body was found by her son. An arrest warrant was issued for her close friend, a Lithuanian citizen. So far, there is no information whether he has been arrested. 

1:20 am In the course of one day, at least 43 journalists were detained in Belarus. 13 of them remain in police custody in Minsk; information about the rest of them could not be obtained at the moment.