A year ago, on August 9, 2020, mass protests against Alexander Lukashenko began in Belarus. The reason for the protest actions was the results of the presidential elections, in which Lukashenko allegedly won.
UA reports this.
Several countries, including Poland, supported those who fought for democracy. Tetiana Shuntava and Oleksandr Wilks, protesters, now live in Ukraine. “I did not choose the life I live now. But everything I did a year ago, I would repeat it, and do even more. I did all this consciously. I feel pain because my parents live there” – Tetiana said.
On the anniversary of the protests, solidarity actions were also held in Ukraine, Sweden and Germany.
Mass protests in Belarus erupted after the announcement of the preliminary results of the presidential elections, which took place on August 9. According to them, Alexander Lukashenko received 80% of the votes. And his main competitor – Svitlana Tikhanovska – only 10%. On the night of August 9-10, thousands of Belarusians, convinced of the falsification of the election results, organized demonstrations at their cities.
The largest actions were held in the first months after the elections. The regime is brutally suppressing protests even now. People are massively subjected to torture and repression. According to the data of the Belarus human rights center “Viasna”, 610 people were recognized as political prisoners.