Alyaksandr Atroshchankau: “Detention in militia department can be called a torture”

The beaten participants of the protest rally had to stand facing a wall motionless for 4 hours.

“It was one of the cruellest dispersals of an opposition demonstration I can remember. People were detained brutally, the received blows to their backs, kidneys, heads. Beating was continued in militia buses, on the way to the militia department and in the militia department,” Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, an activist of the civil campaign “European Belarus”, told www.charter97.org.

“The detention in the militia department can be called an hours-long torture. The beaten people were farced to stand facing a wall motionless for four hours. The detained were beaten and insulted from time to time. Militia officers refused to call an ambulance for the injured for six hours. When our friends standing near the department call an ambulance, militia officers refused to allow them in for two times. In this context, I’d like to notice how brave the protesters are. The fact such people live in our country gives a hope this outrage will soon end,” the “European Belarus” activist said.

Atroshchankau was fined 15 basic units (525.000 rubles, or 185 dollars) for participation in the rally against bringing Russian troops to Belarus.

We remind that a rally of protest against bringing Russian troops in Belarus with the slogan “No to Russian Occupation!” was brutally dispersed in Minsk today. Dozens oppositionists were detained before and during the rally.

The rally was carried out in protest against starting the strategic military exercises Zapad-2009. First echelons of Russian troops arrived in Belarus yesterday.

One of the aims of the exercises is liquidation of military conflicts, but Belarusian democrats believe the forthcoming exercises threaten independence of Belarus. The Belarusian land has never met such amount of Russian soldiers before – 6000 out of 12500 soldiers, involved in the training, are Russians. Political leader of Russia have stated several times about possible brining Russian troops to Belarus in case of a threat to Lukashenka’s regime.