Thousands of people across Belarus are participating in the ongoing protests that started on Aug. 9, when Belarusian incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko was announced as the country’s president for the sixth time in a row.
Protests erupted in Belarus after state-controlled exit polls declared Lukashenko the winner of the Aug. 9 presidential election, contradicting unofficial polls that showed opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya far in the lead. The protesters are demanding a fair election and the release of political prisoners.
Prior to the election, Lukashenko had jailed his two main opponents. His third rival fled the country, fearing arrest.
On Aug. 11 Tikhanovskaya was forced to flee the county as well.
As people began to take to the streets to protest, riot police and special forces of the Belarusian security agency, KGB, fired rubber bullets, flash grenades and water cannons at protesters, leaving them seriously injured.
At least one death was recorded and dozens of people were injured after thousands of Belarusians took to the streets of at least 33 cities to protest the election results. Over 7,000 people were arrested in the first three days of the protest.
