Lukashenko allowed the use of military equipment against protesters

Alexander Lukashenko allowed the security forces to use military equipment in the suppression of riots in Belarus - and citizens of the country are now prohibited from filming the actions of law enforcement officers.

According to the new law that Lukashenka signed today:

• security forces are allowed to conduct personal searches and searches of vehicles upon arrest;
• law enforcement officers were released from liability for harm caused as a result of the use of physical force, special means, weapons, military and special equipment, “if such use was carried out in accordance with the requirements of legislative acts”;
• citizens of Belarus are prohibited from filming or using a voice recorder the actions of security forces on duty;
• security forces are allowed to use military equipment when dispersing mass protests;
• members of the Presidential Security Service and military personnel will be able to fall under state protection.

Street actions began in Belarus in August 2020 after the announcement of the results of the presidential elections. According to the CEC, opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya won only about 10% of the vote, and Alexander Lukashenko, who has been leading the country since 1994, won. Many Belarusians did not believe the official results, after which opposition protests broke out in the country. At least two demonstrators were killed and one detainee died because he was not provided with timely medical assistance, the human rights organization Viasna said in a report. She also documented over 1,000 testimonies of victims of torture.

At some protests, the security forces began to use special equipment - eyewitnesses noticed in the center of Minsk a column of several armored vehicles without license plates, but with heavy machine guns, as well as special military equipment. Prior to that, Alexander Lukashenko stressed that the demonstrators "crossed the red lines" and that now the security forces will act tough.

Find out more

There is a clause in Russian legislation allowing military personnel of the federal security services to use military equipment. However, this is allowed only in the absence of special means, in a state of necessary defense, in case of emergency, or when detaining a person who has committed a crime. There is no dispersal of protest actions in the list of cases of permissible use of military equipment.