250 arrested in Belarus after challengers barred from election

Belarus has opened a criminal case over protests in which more than 250 people were detained after President Alexander Lukashenko’s two main rivals were barred from running in a presidential election next month.

Several hundred people took to the streets of the capital Minsk on Tuesday and social media reported protests in other Belarusian cities after the central election commission refused to register the two challengers.

Police said more than 250 people had been detained after rights group Vesna 96 published the names of 250 detainees, and the state investigative committee said it had launched a criminal case on Wednesday against the protest organizers and protesters.

“All video materials posted on the internet are attached to the materials of the criminal case and are currently being studied by investigators,” the committee said in a statement.

Lukashenko, who has allowed little dissent in his 26-year rule, is all but certain to win the August 9 election though he has faced mass protests this year.

In central Minsk, protesters periodically broke into applause on Tuesday – a trademark of recent protests. Reuters witnesses saw police blocking off the main streets and detaining protesters.