On the night of August 10, during the dispersal of a protest in Minsk, Belarus security forces beat up a Ukrainian journalist from the Associated Press, Mstyslav Chernov. Head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine Serhiy Tomilenko wrote this on Facebook.
“Ukrainian Mstyslav Chernov was beaten by Belarusian security forces during the dispersal of protest demonstrations in Minsk on the night of August 10. And at least 15 journalists, according to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists, were detained by law enforcement officers on Sunday, the day of the presidential elections in Belarus,” Tomilenko said.
Also, the British edition of the Independent reports that shortly before midnight Chernov was taken to the hospital with suspected concussion after being beaten by riot police.
"The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine expresses solidarity with Mstyslav Chernov and dozens of Belarusian journalists who, despite the risks, carry out their professional duty and inform about the progress of the situation in Belarus. We call on the Belarusian authorities not to use force against media workers and not to prosecute colleagues for journalistic activities," the message says.
As we reported before, 50 protesters and 39 law enforcers sustained injuries during the mass riots in Belarus, the country's Interior Ministry reported.
