Thousands of women demonstrate in Belarus against Lukashenko

thousands of women have demonstrated against President Lukashenko. Images on social media show that a long procession of women passed through the capital Minsk this afternoon, even though the authorities had warned that the protest was not allowed.

The riot police were ready to intervene, blocked some roads and temporarily closed subway stations, but it does not seem that a major confrontation between the women and the riot police has taken place. However, an unknown number of women have been arrested. Some were even taken out of public transport and taken away.

Journalists target

The correspondent of the ARD was not with them at that time, but was later approached by the police. He was not taken to the station. The two Russian employees were expelled from Belarus and on their way to Moscow, the Belarusian producer is due to appear in court on Monday.

“Absolutely unacceptable”

Media organizations are outraged by the actions of the Belarusian authorities. Programme Director Jörg Schönenborn of the German broadcaster WDR, who is responsible for the reporting of the ARD in Belarus, calls the state of affairs “absolutely unacceptable”

“This again shows that independent reporting in Belarus is becoming increasingly difficult, and almost impossible,” he says. “However, we will not be intimidated and will do everything we can to ensure that our journalists can continue to report.”