Belarus' Interior Minister Suggests Protester Taraikovsky Killed With 'Non-Lethal Weapon'

Faizan Hashmi Published August 16, 2020 | 08:30 PM

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2020) Belarusian Interior Minister Yuri Karaev suggested on Sunday that a protester who died in Minsk early this week was shot at with a non-lethal weapon.

Alexander Taraikovsky died on Monday during a rally held in protest against the official outcome of last Sunday's presidential election. The Interior Ministry said he had been killed by an explosive device that went off in his hand as he was about to throw it at the police. Footage of Taraikovsky's death that emerged over the weekend do not show that the protester had an explosive decide in his hand.

"Maybe he was shot at with a non-lethal weapon. I do not know yet... It might have been a rubber bullet, it was not a firearm, it was not a bullet with a steel core," Karaev said in a video posted online.

The minister denied claims that the police had used lethal weapons in the crackdown on protests.

"We did not use firearms, only non-lethal weapons," he said.