On August 9, 2020 presidential elections were held in Belarus. The public had high hopes for a fair election that would lead to a change of the current leader - president Alexander Lukashenko, who ruled the country for 26 years.
However, Lukashenko's main rivals were arrested even before the start of the election campaign, independent observers were not allowed to count the votes, which led to massive protests that continue to this day. More than 25 thousand people were detained. Five people were killed. More than 380 people reported torture and beatings during their detention. More than 350 people are recognized as political prisoners. And there isn’t a single criminal case on the facts of police violence and murder of protesters that has been initiated.