There were numerous arrests, and the police attacked and seriously injured protesters in Belorussia after the dictator held a secret inauguration ceremony.

After the secret inauguration of Mr. Alexander Lukashenko as the head of the state in Belarus, several thousand people took to the streets. The armed police positioned themselves on the streets, pushing people back and driving the groups apart, the video footage has shown.

There were numerous arrests, especially in the centre of the capital Minsk. The opposition stated that the police had acted brutally. According to the Wesna Human Rights Center, police arrested more than 150 demonstrators across the country. Official figures from the authorities are not yet available.

Water cannons, tear gas, blockages

The police used water cannons and followed people on the streets. There were also injured people who were taken care of by other demonstrators. Local people said they heard gunshots in Minsk. The police forces also reportedly used tear gas. The authorities denied that police used violence. The state agency Belta reported that they had the situation under control.

The people waved the historical white and red national flags and chanted: Get out of here. In many places, motorists honked their horns out of solidarity, and there were long traffic jams because demonstrators blocked roads. A video showed a single man running after a water cannon with a flag in his hands.

That morning the swearing-in ceremony for Mr. Lukashenko had taken place without prior notice in the Palace of Independence in Minsk. Unlike in the past, state television did not broadcast the ceremony. Mr. Lukashenko's motorcade sped off through the empty streets of Minsk, the footage has shown. The Belarusian authorities apparently wanted to prevent further protests from being provoked.

EU countries did not recognise the elections due to the falsification of the results by the regime. Canada, the USA, and Ukraine also stated they would not recognise Mr. Lukashenko as the next president of Belorussia while Communist China congratulated him as "the one chosen by the nation".

According to the official results, the 66-year-old head of state of the ex-Soviet republic is said to have been re-elected with 80.1 percent of the vote. The opposition provided evidence that the majority of people perceived Ms. Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya as the winner of the vote.