Brest Residents Changed Tactics Of Protest Against Battery Factory

Residents of Brest are organizing processions along the main streets of the city.

This time about 240 participants came to the traditional “feeding of pigeons”. People gathered on the main square of the city, and then passed along the central streets of Brest, Belsat reports.

There were no detentions, but on the eve, allegedly for participating in the last rally, human rights activist Uladzimir Vialchkin and activist Vital Kazak had been detained.

Another activist, Aliaksandr Kabanau from Biaroza, was not able to feed the pigeons, as he had been detained by the police in the morning. However, after a long questioning as a witness, he was released, but did not manage to get to Brest.

The format of the rally has been changed for two weeks already, after gathering at Lenin Square, the opponents of the plant march along the central streets of Brest: Pushkin and Savetskaya streets, and finish the walk.

Since February last year, residents of Brest and Brest region have been protesting against the battery factory built near the city. People have collected more than 40 thousand signatures against the construction, but the authorities ignore their opinion. During the year of protest, 55 meetings, 8 demonstrations and 12 pickets, as well as a local referendum, were banned. Therefore, people gather in the central square of Brest and feed pigeons, but even with such a format, the authorities use repression. A lot of participants of feeding pigeons have been detained by the police, the people have been fined and sent to prison. Every appearance of the Belsat journalists at the square is punishable by heavy fines.