230 people detained after anti-war and anti-referendum protests

On Sunday, February 27, over 800 people were arrested all over Belarus for protests against the war and the referendum. People are still held in detention centers in inhumane conditions.

According to human rights defenders, some people were beaten following their detention and in the infamous Akrescina detention center in Minsk, they are not given any food since the arrest. Belarusian courts have already considered more than 267 administrative cases. In just two days at least 230 people have been arrested by court decision and only 14 fines have been imposed. Judges consider cases in seven minutes and have even continued working until 9:00 p.m. The detainees are charged with participation in mass events (Article 24.23 of the Administrative Code), petty hooliganism (Article 19.1 of the Administrative Code), or disobedience to the police (Article 24.3 of the Administrative Code). In some cases, people are charged with two different articles.

On March 1, the detainees in Minsk were transferred to Žodzina detention center. Presumably, some of the detainees could also have been transferred to Baranavičy. No care parcels for 'political' detainees are accepted neither in Žodzina nor in Minsk pre-trial detention centers.