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‘They Beat Me With Fists, Feet, Shields. In My Mind, I Said Goodbye To My Family’

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‘They Beat Me With Fists, Feet, Shields. In My Mind, I Said Goodbye To My Family’
PHOTO: TUT.BY

The story of a man who got detained near Pushkinskaya metro station in Minsk.

35-year-old resident of Minsk Dzmitry was detained during protests near the Pushkinskaya metro station on the evening of August 10. He was severely beaten and taken to hospital. Dzmitry told belsat.eu what happened that evening. Attention, shocking content!

Dzmitry arrived at the Pushkinskaya metro station at about 8 pm on August 10. According to the man, within three hours, until 11, more and more people approached. And then the riot police arrived and cordoned the protesters of. Below is the full story about what happened from Dzmitry himself:

“At about 11 o'clock in the evening, riot police began to throw flash-bang grenades, shoot rubber bullets. I was hit by four bullets for sure, maybe more. One flew near my ear, my hearing in that ear is poor now, it seems like some kind of concussion.

At some point, the riot police surrounded the people, they came out even from the courtyards, there was nowhere to retreat. Those who were detained, including me, were thrown to the ground. At first I tried to resist, but it was pointless, as 10-15 people piled up and started beating with everything they could. Then they twisted their arms, threw them into a paddy wagon, into a cage along with three more. The paddy wagon was completely full. We had a man of about fifty with us. He felt bad, did not have enough air, everyone began to ask to let him out, to give him some air to breathe, or to bring water. And the riot police responded by spraying a can of gas into the cell where the man was sitting, and he felt even worse. Instead of water and air, these sadists did this.

We breathed this gas for about forty minutes, until they brought us to the destination point, I can't even say exactly where - some kind of police station, or something. There, in the courtyard, everyone was brought to their knees, their hands were tied behind their backs, and the riot policemen began to beat the people. Again ten of them pounced on me. Now my whole body is damaged - they beat me on the buttocks, legs, back, head. They beat me so that at some point I felt bad, I still can't breathe normally. Then they themselves saw what they had done, they called the medical workers. They put me and others who were just as brutally beaten on the grass, and gave me painkillers. One man had a broken nose, another had a broken leg. We were taken to the hospital, to the traumatology department. They examined us there. I refused to be hospitalized and went home.

While they were doing my tests, CT, I saw how every ten minutes a beaten person was brought in.

I was diagnosed with a concussion - I have a hematoma all over the back of my head. They say that something is wrong with the lungs - they could not figure it out right away, but they say there are cracks in the ribs and the lung is hurt. The rest of the organs seem to be in order. Well, numerous bumps, bruises, etc.

They beat me with everything they could — with feet, clubs, shields. The attitude was as if they were killing me. At some point, it seriously seemed to me that they would kill me, that I would no longer see my family, I said goodbye to them in my thoughts. I cannot call those men people.

They beat the men, the guys who stood at the wall, with their hands tied, who could not resist, could not do anything. They beat people for turning their heads. This was accompanied by terrible abuse.

They said: did you want a change? Here's a change! Are you heroes? Who are you anyway to decide that you can go out and demand something?

I don't know how it will end up. They released me now, I have a certificate from the hospital. What will happen next - I do not know. No protocol was drawn up. I wouldn't be surprised if they come to me and knock on my door. After what I saw, nothing will surprise me at all. There is no conscience, regret, no human traits at all. I am very afraid for my wife and little daughter too.

Write complaints? I think that it makes no sense. I have seen many, so to speak, not the most kind and honest people in my life, but what I encountered that evening surpasses any understanding of human cruelty. Therefore, I am convinced that all our complaints are meaningless. Nobody will consider them.

I am not indifferent to the fate of Belarus and Belarusians. I went to rallies before, for example, when they wanted to introduce a tax on unemployment. But as many people as now, I have not seen on the streets of Minsk. Dozens of thousands. At some point, I felt real pride for Belarusians.

But these ... I don't know what to call them, they are not the police already ... They break people. And I see that Belarusians will not last long. Our people by themselves are not so militant, but here they will break the last will to fight. What will happen next? It seems to me that nothing good. Such people who hold on to this power understand only the language of force. They do not understand anything else, they have nothing human in them. I am convinced that they will not understand us either in a year or in their entire life. These young riot policemen have been very brainwashed, this is obvious. They will kill if they are told so. I have no doubt about it now. Negotiations with this government are impossible.

What should the people do? I don’t know… If they break us now, all these young people, students who stood there, they will simply leave Belarus. I think about myself: is there any point in my 35 years to waste more time in the country where they don’t consider me a person? I do not want to betray my homeland, leaving it, but circumstances force me to leave. I have to raise my daughter. How is this possible in our conditions? There are a lot of people like me who were waiting for these election, and hoped. But they spat in our souls, stole hope, lied. I saw how many people stood in queues at the voting stations with white ribbons, all my circle - none of them voted for the current government. Our votes were stolen. But it was worth trying. I would not forgive myself if I didn’t come out.”

According to the Ministry of Health, more than 200 people were injured during the protests. Officially, 1 person died. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the confrontation with the special forces who arrived to unblock the square, one of the protesters tried to throw an undefined explosive device in the direction of the law-enforcement officers.

According to eyewitnesses with whom the Belsat correspondent spoke, the man could have been killed as a result of hitting him with a stun grenade.

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