Interior Minister Anatoi Kuleshov said on January 26 that he had personally ordered to disperse an unauthorized opposition rally in Minsk on Election Day on December 19. According to him, 50 active participants of riots have been detained and 37 charged up to the present moment.
The minister says that 33 people have been indicted and put in jail as preventive punishment. «A preventive measure in the form of recognisance not to leave was chosen in regard of the four detainees,» said Anatoli Kuleshov, BelTA informs.
There are another 12 suspects in the case of the riots, said the Interior Minister. «16 of the 50 detainees have previously been prosecuted for crimes such as robbery, burglary, car theft and property damage,» added the Minister of Internal Affairs.
In addition, according to the Interior Minister, the police behaved as reasonably as possible in respect of the rally participants on December 19.
Cases of Riots’ Participants to be Brought before Court in February, Kuleshov
The Minister also informed that the criminal cases against the active participants in the riots would be brought before court in early February.
«During the trials, journalists will be able to actually see if there were any provocation by the intelligence services at the Independence Square on December 19 or not,» assured Anatoli Kuleshov.
