Watchdog

Police used flash grenades in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, in an effort to disperse anti-government protesters on November 15. Hundreds were detained, including two people who were beaten by masked security officers inside a Minsk grocery store. But many protesters showed defiance, with one woman kneeling on a street in front of a police van. Protests began in August after longtime ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared a landslide victory in a presidential vote widely seen as rigged.

Belarusian police detained people who had gathered at a makeshift memorial in Minsk to remember slain anti-government protester Raman Bandarenka. Mourners lit candles and laid flowers on November 15 to honor the 31-year old activist who died in a hospital three days earlier after reportedly being badly beaten by masked security forces. Police broke up the memorial ceremony and detained several people. Thousands also marched through the Belarusian capital to remember Bandarenka amid ongoing anti-government protests. Demonstrations against Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka began in August after he declared a landslide victory in a presidential vote widely seen as rigged.