MOSCOW (Reuters) – Belarusian police arrested five university academics in the capital Minsk on Friday, human rights activists said, and videos posted on social media showed chaotic scenes of detainees being dragged by officials into crowded corridors.
The arrests took place in the minsk State Language Institute building, which had warned academics several days ago that he would call the police unless they ended their protests against the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko last month.
Social media photographs showed dozens of academics making a song a refrain from “Hear the People Sing,” an exciting protest anthem from the musical “The Miserables,” a state of the white and red flag that is the emblem of the opposition.
Other clips showed academics protesting to police while the arrested were away and implored a university official to respond to the incident.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior said the arrests were part of an “administrative process” and were similar to Friday’s events, possibly a reference to the song.
The five academics were released from police custody on Friday after being accused of participating in illegal protests, according to posts on Belarusian social media and media.
Thousands of academics participated in demonstrations across the country on September 1, the first day of the educational year, as part of a wave of opposition to Lukashenko’s election victory on August 9, which critics said he manipulated.
On the other hand, a Minsk court imprisoned six hounds who were arrested at the student demonstration on 1 September for 3 days each, said the Belarusian Journalists Association, who were convicted of participating in illegal demonstrations.
Protests and movements have pitted Lukashenko at maximum serious risk to date for his 26-year control of the force in the former Soviet republic.
Euroradio showed a video of academics confronting university officials after arrests with chants of “Honte!”
Dozens more people piled up outside the university in solidarity with the students.
(Written through Mark Trevelyan, edited through William Maclean)
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