UN experts count 450 cases of torture in Belarus

In Belarus, the political crisis continues, which began immediately after the presidential elections on August 9. For the fourth week, thousands of protests and strikes are taking place in the country.

“We are extremely alarmed by the hundreds of allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by the police,” stressed at the UN. The Belarusian security forces showed the greatest cruelty in the first days of the protests. Then, in different cities of the country, more than 7,000 people were detained, there was nowhere to accommodate them, as a result, the cells were overcrowded so that the detainees could not breathe and they could only sleep while standing, according to the detainees, they were stuffed into garages and exercise yards, where they suffered from the cold at night. The security forces beat the detainees so that later many ended up in hospitals, forced them to stay in uncomfortable positions for a long time, almost did not feed them and deprived them of hygiene products. Medical assistance was not always provided to the wounded. Several people died during the protests.

"There is also information about" violence against women and children, including sexual violence. "The UN document was signed by 13 experts. The authors of the statement call to bring the perpetrators to justice and provide compensation to victims and their families", - the telegram channel Nexta live reports.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres back in mid-August called on Belarusians to resolve the crisis in the country peacefully, through dialogue. “Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of persons in custody must be thoroughly investigated”, - he said.

Formerly the Coordinating Council of the Opposition of Belarus called on The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, Yuri Karaev, either resign or confess, since on August 13 it was he who took responsibility for the incident on the Belarusian television. "The death of people, violence, unprecedented cruelty and torture of civilians - we all saw this, " the Kommersant newspaper quotes the words of the council's representative Maria Kolesnikova.

It is worth noting that the brutal attack on the protesters did not ultimately calm down, but only intensified the protests. They continue to this day. In particular, today in Minsk there are up to two thousand students came out on your march against the election results. The police and riot police again detained more than 40 people, some of the detentions were again harsh.