Protests in Belarus: Interior Ministry Confirms 3rd Fatality

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus has confirmed the death of a 3rd participant in the anti-government protests - a 19-year-old man. As reported by the Ministry, he was hit by a car on the road and died on the spot on August 18. 

"A Renault light-duty vehicle ran over a pedestrian who was on the road at the moment of the tragedy. The Interior Ministry claims that the pedestrian was warned by the driver, but he did not withdraw in time," reports the website of 112.international.

The HQ of the United Belarusian Opposition plans to finish the formation of a coordinating council for the transfer of power in Belarus, TASS reported.

It is noted that 70 people will enter the council.

“We intend to finish its formation today; 70 people will be included. We received a few hundred of applications. We have announced some of the people who entered it; respectful people,” trustee of the candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Olga Kovalkova reported.

She noted that the HQ has no comment on the offer of incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to hold a recalculation of votes.

“We need dialogue and we want to establish it through the coordinating council,” Kovalkova added.

Alexander Lukashenko won the 2020 election in Belarus with a reported 80.23% of the vote, which was met with widespread protests throughout the country and violent repression by the Belarusian authorities. Protests in Belarus have been ongoing since the August 9 presidential election. Protesters say massive vote-rigging has taken place and the winner is not Alexander Lukashenko but the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Hundreds of people were injured in clashes with police during the protests, and 3 protesters were killed.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Source: 112.international

Image: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters

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