MINSK. Nov 20 (Interfax) - More than 1,300 people in Belarus have been sentenced to administrative arrest for taking part in protests from November 1 to November 18, the unregistered human rights center Viasna said on Friday.
"Data available to human rights campaigners indicates that over the period between November 1 and November 18, 1,325 people were sentenced to administrative arrest, and fines totaling 9,510 basic units [around 256,800 Belarusian rubles] were imposed on 520 people. In all, participants in the protests were sentenced to 16,559 days of arrest, or 46 years in total," Viasna said.
Rights activists also know that more than 500 people are under investigation as part of criminal cases related to the presidential election and protests in the country. According to Viasna, more than 900 criminal cases have been opened against participants in the presidential race, their campaign staff activists, and participants in peaceful protests over the past six months, since the start of the presidential campaign in the country.