The 15th protest march: protesters changed their tactics and made the right decision, security forces used stun grenades, people beaten at police offices were taken away by ambulance
22 November 2020 | BYHelp-Mediagroup
New tactics of protest marches forced security officers to rush around Minsk
Recent protest marches on Sundays have shown that security forces have learned to plan ahead how to block protesters and move quickly around the city. The authorities used to accumulate a large number of soldiers and police along the planned march route and brutally suppress any attempts by the protesters to gather in the usual column of many thousands of people. Because of this, the events of 1, 8 and 15 November were especially tragic, more than 3,000 people were detained on these days.
This time it was decided to drop the idea of a single column and to gather locally – in yards and neighbourhoods.
On Sunday morning, the authorities traditionally cordoned off the city centre. Central metro stations were closed and the mobile Internet was shut down.
People came out simultaneously in all districts of Minsk and other cities across the country. They gathered in groups of hundreds or even thousands. They walked along the streets and chanted slogans, the most popular of which was: “Don’t watch TV, look out of the window!”
Source: TUT.BY
Source: Onliner
Notably, explosions no longer frightened people, and the tactics of “dispersed protest” bore its fruit: there were relatively few police officers and security forces did not attack if they saw that they were outnumbered by protesters.
The total number of people detained during protests in Belarus is over 30 thousand
The total number of those detained on 22 November is about 400 people, among them the vocalist of a band “Petlia Pristrastija” Illia Charapko-Samakhvalau. The total number of people detained over 3 months of protests is over 30 thousand.
People are still being tortured and beaten – detainees are forced to stand against the wall with their hands up in police departments. According to the volunteers, by 11 pm on 22 November, more than 15 people were taken to hospitals from police departments by ambulance.
“They were looking for a welding machine at home.” A medical professional has left the country after learning about a possible criminal case against him
For five years, Mikita Staravoitau had been working as a physiotherapist: he was a coach and a massage therapist in the national women’s biathlon team (he used to work with Darya Domracheva and Nadezhda Skardino), worked with the junior ice hockey team and the national weightlifting team and had a private practice. But all this is in the past: the 27-year-old medical professional has left the country and is starting a new life from scratch in Poland. Mikita has told Tut.by online news portal what he had to go through in Belarus and why he decided to leave for Poland.
- For the first time he was detained on 19 June, when he saw that a man who was being detained needed medical help. As a result, both of them were arrested. The medic did not stay in custody for long – he was given a fine of 30 penalty units (268 EUR, 317 USD).
- On 9-11 August, Mikita was out in the city as a nurse. He acknowledges that the worst thing he saw was a young man with a hand torn off by a stun grenade.
- Mikita, together with other health workers, helped the victims who had left the detention centre in Akrestsina Street.
- The last march in which Mikita took part was on 26 October, when he was detained again. He was interrogated several times, served a sentence in prison and received a fine of 10 penalty units (89 EUR, 106 USD).
- When Mikita realised that he could be charged with a criminal case, he decided to leave the country. “After I had passed the passport control at the airport, I called my mother. My residence was already being searched.” Mikita says that the charges against him had changed by that moment: “Allegedly I scattered nails on a highway near my house, endangering others. They were looking for a welding machine at my mother’s home…”
- Now fellow Belarusians living in Poland are helping Mikita with his partner to settle in a new place.
Many Belarusian health workers have suffered from the regime. They are fighting against COVID-19 without the state providing basic means of protection. Besides, statistics on disease incidence and mortality is being manipulated and figures are being underreported by ten folds.
Health workers openly express their position, participate in protests and volunteer to help victims of police brutality. However, they are being fired, blackmailed and arrested. Medical students are being expelled for their civic stance.
Belarusian Medical Solidarity Foundation (BMSF) was founded to help Belarusian medical professionals who are persecuted.
You can support courageous health workers in Belarus by donating to the BMSF.
For more information on the events of 22 November 2020, please visit Infocenter Free Belarus 2020:
