Belarusian State TV Online Broadcast Disrupted By Cyber Attack

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published September 27, 2020 | 01:40 AM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2020) The broadcast of evening news on the website of the Belarusian Television channel Belarus 1 on Saturday went off and instead showed footage of a crackdown on protesters.

A hacking movement known as "Cyber-partisans" claimed the responsibility for the attack on its Telegram channel.

Following a few hours of disruption, Belarus 1 has recovered the regular broadcast.

The attack also affected the All-National tv (ONT) channel, whose online broadcast is currently still off.

The broadcasters have not yet commented on the matter.

People have been protesting in Belarus for over a month now, dismayed by the official results of the August 9 presidential election that catapulted incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth consecutive term.

Police cracked down on protesters during the first several days of the unrest. More than 6,700 people were detained during the initial phase of the protest. According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, three people died and several hundred others sustained injuries during that period, including more than 130 security officers.

This past Wednesday, Lukashenko held a clandestine inauguration ceremony, which then reignited the protests and led to a new crackdown.