Some 4,700 Protest-Related Criminal Cases Opened In Belarus Since 2020 Election- Officials

Some 4,700 criminal cases related to illegal anti-government demonstrations in Belarus have been initiated since the last year's presidential election, with investigation on 857 of them already completed, the Investigative Committee said on Friday

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2021) Some 4,700 criminal cases related to illegal anti-government demonstrations in Belarus have been initiated since the last year's presidential election, with investigation on 857 of them already completed, the Investigative Committee said on Friday.

"Since August 2020, the Investigative Committee's main efforts have been focused on identifying, suppressing and investigating the circumstances of criminal manifestations associated with illegal mass events, riots, protests, encroachment on state sovereignty and public safety ... Investigative divisions initiated 4,691 criminal cases on 4,196 facts of such manifestations," the committee said in a statement.

Most cases account for crimes related to the desecration of buildings and property damage, as well as to insult to representatives of the authorities, the committee said.

"The measures taken by the committee ... allowed to complete the investigation of 857 criminal cases, of which 825 criminal cases on 1,184 crimes were transferred to the prosecutor's office to be brought to the court," the statement added.

After incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko secured his sixth term in office in the election on August 9, 2020, the country has witnessed massive protests by opposition contesting the official results of the vote, claiming electoral fraud. Opposition figures also accused the security forces of resorting to excessive violence during the protests. The Belarusian authorities have repeatedly said protests in the country are being coordinated from abroad.