Фото: t.me/pressmvd
Russian citizens were among the participants in the Rainbow Family gathering detained near Rasony. According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, some of them began to be released after spending nearly 24 hours in a temporary detention centre.
They are being issued one-year bans on entering Belarus.
As previously reported, authorities carried out mass detentions of participants in the annual Rainbow Family gathering in the Rasony district of the Vitsyebsk region. According to human rights defenders, around 350 people were detained on July 29. They included families with children, and some minors were forced to spend the night in a temporary detention centre together with their parents.
The Interior Ministry said the operation was launched after receiving a report about a noisy gathering involving a large number of people on the shore of a lake. According to the ministry, officers found a tent camp whose participants included foreign nationals and minors. The ministry said the event’s organisers — a 23-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man from Minsk — had been detained.
Administrative proceedings have been initiated against participants under an article covering violations of the rules governing the organisation or conduct of public events. The offence carries penalties including a fine, community service or administrative arrest.