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Six people arrested during Chernobyl anniversary march in Minsk

Six people were arrested by police during a traditional Chernobyl anniversary march staged by opposition forces in Minsk on April 26.

Two of them were Yury Rubtsow, an independent trade union activist resident in Homyel, and Leanid Smowzh, a resident of the Stowbtsy district. The names of the four other arrestees were not immediately known. All of them were expected to stand trial on Monday.

In a statement issued following the "Charnobylski Shlyakh" (Path of Chernobyl) demonstration, human rights groups urged law enforcement agencies to end their practice of making "arbitrary arrests" ahead of and during peaceful demonstrations.

They described the arrests as illegal and said that they were aimed at intimidating other demonstrators.

The statement also denounced the use of plainclothesmen to police demonstrations in Belarus and urged the authorities to send only police in uniform to provide security during mass events. //BelaPAN