Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Belarus

Belarus Police Arrest 70 For Unauthorized Meeting

The opposition is hoping to unseat Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka (epa)

Minsk, 29 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Belarusian police today arrested 70 members of an independent election monitoring group, who were attempting to register in the country.

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October 29, 2005

Nikolai Astreika, the leader of the Partnership group, said police raided the meeting, held at a theater, and arrested 70 members on charges of attending an unauthorized meeting.

Astreika said the group was aware of a prohibition on unauthorized meetings but needed to assemble and hold a founding congress so they could gather the necessary documents to register.

Astreika said police broke up the meeting before it started.

Belarus will hold a presidential election in 2006.

(With agencies)

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