Protests in Belarus

A 64-year-old editor of a regional newspaper was detained and arrested in Belarus. He is accused of spreading "deliberately false information that discredits the country" in the newspaper and on the website.

Dmitry Semchenko, the former head of the presidential media pool in Belarus, was sentenced to three years in prison for posts on social networks criticizing the harsh actions of the security forces to disperse the protesters.

Sofia Sapega, a Russian woman convicted in Belarus, was included in the register of persons involved in terrorist activities in this country. This is stated in the documents on the website of the Belarusian KGB.

A court in Belarus sentenced in absentia ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (pictured) to 15 years in prison, and her colleague on the Coordinating Council of the opposition, ex-Minister of Culture Pavel Latushko — to 18 years in prison.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has publicly stated for the second time that there is allegedly not a single political prisoner in the republic.

The detention of 33 Russian mercenaries, whom some media outlets called fighters of "PMC Wagner", was planned by the special services of Ukraine and funded by the United States, CNN reports, citing sources.