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Hundreds arrested in election protests

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus (L) is greeted by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow May 8, 2010.(UPI Photo/Alex Volgin)
President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus (L) is greeted by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow May 8, 2010.(UPI Photo/Alex Volgin) | License Photo

MINSK, Belarus, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Police in Belarus arrested hundreds of demonstrators, including presidential candidates, who protested presidential election results, observers said Monday.

Witnesses said dozens of protesters were injured in clashes after being beaten with batons

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Seven presidential candidates were arrested as they protested the results of Sunday's elections in which incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner, the BBC reported.

Official results announced Monday gave Lukashenko 79.7 percent of the vote.

Several hundred people were detained when police broke up a demonstration involving at least 10,000 anti-Lukashenko protesters in Minsk, police spokesman Konstantin Shalkevich said. Demonstrators tried to storm a government building but were turned back by riot police.

Reports indicate seven of the nine presidential candidates were among those arrested, the BBC said. Witnesses said opposition candidate Vladimir Neklyaev was removed from a hospital where he was being treated after having been beaten by police.

The United States condemned methods the Belarusian government employed to "undermine the democratic process and use disproportionate force against political activists, civil society representatives and journalists, and we call for the immediate release of all presidential candidates and the hundreds of protesters who were detained" Sunday and Monday, the White House said in a statement.

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The United States can't accept the announced results of the presidential election "as legitimate," the statement said.

"We are also concerned by indications that independent Internet media have been disrupted and call on the government of Belarus to take measures to protect its citizens' right to free media," the White House said.

Recalling the U.S.-Belarus Joint Statement from Dec. 1, the White House said further development of relations is contingent on Belarus's respect for human rights and the democratic process.

"The actions taken over the last 24 hours, however, are a clear step backwards on issues central to our relationship with Belarus," the statement said.

Amnesty International denounced the use of force.

"The events of the last 24 hours obliterate the fragile signs of openness in the runup to the presidential election," said Heather McGill, the group's expert on Belarus. "The Belarusian authorities must investigate all allegations of disproportionate use of force."

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