The country is not calming down after the presidential elections held in Belarus on August 9. In Minsk and in other Belarusian cities, people have taken to the streets to protest against the election results, which have led to the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994.

Candidates running in the elections are not accepting the voting results. Lukashenko’s government, using brutal force, continues to disperse the people who have taken to the streets. More than 250 people have officially been admitted to the hospital during these days alone. As of August 13, more than 6,000 people had been arrested.

There is ample evidence of severe beatings and humiliation of detainees.

Journalists working in Belarus are in immediate danger. As of August 13, at least 55 journalists had been detained during protests in Belarus, according to Amnesty International.

According to the Rory Peck organization, which supports freelance journalists, 25 journalists are awaiting a court decision, 17 journalists have been abused, Belarusian police have broken or confiscated 10 video cameras and memory cards.

News organizations in Armenia, Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Sweden have issued a statement condemning the unprecedented crackdown on journalists in Belarus.

“Detention, severe beatings, damage to the equipment of Belarusian and foreign journalists, disconnection of the Internet, and many other gross violations of human rights must be stopped and investigated, and those who commit them must be severely punished,” the statement said.

The journalistic organizations that signed the statement note, “We express our support and admiration for how our Belarusian colleagues continue to cover the events taking place in the country in conditions that are unsafe and filled with violence. We use your publications to find out what is going on in Belarus. Thank you for that.”

In order to follow the events in Belarus, the organizations offer a list of reliable media outlets, which will continue to be updated.

Gegham Vardanyan