Belarus’ Interior Ministry confirmed that it carried out a raid during a mass event in the Rasony district of the Vitsyebsk region involving more than 300 participants.
According to the ministry, the inspection was prompted by a report to the 102 emergency hotline about a noisy gathering on the shore of a lake with a large number of people.
Security forces who arrived at the scene found a tent camp. According to the Interior Ministry, the participants included foreign nationals and minors.
“Those gathered had set up tents, lit campfires and held festivities with loud music and the use of symbols associated with various religious movements. Many of them were naked in the presence of young children,” the press release said.
The Interior Ministry said the organisers of the event, a 23-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man from Minsk, had been detained.
Administrative proceedings have been launched against the participants under Article 24.23 of Belarus’ Code of Administrative Offences (“Violation of the procedure for organising or holding mass events”). The article provides for a fine of up to 150 basic units, community service or administrative arrest.
Earlier, human rights defenders reported mass detentions. According to «Vitsebskaya Viasna», around 350 people were detained near Rasony on July 29. According to preliminary information, those detained were participants in the annual Rainbow Family gathering, which brings together supporters of harmonious coexistence with nature, an alternative lifestyle and criticism of the conventions of capitalist society.
It was reported that during the raid, people were detained in entire families, and several minors spent the night in a temporary detention facility together with adults.
According to human rights defenders, administrative reports were drawn up against those detained for participating in an unauthorised mass event, and court hearings are expected to take place within two months.
