Terrified Belarusians gather outside prisons to look for family members after thousands arrested

Hundreds of distraught parents have crowded outside a jail in the Belarusian capital Minsk looking for their children after several thousand people were detained during protests after Sunday's presidential election as reports about police brutality emerged.

At least 5,000 people have been detained in massive anti-government protests that engulfed the country on Sunday night after incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, was announced the winner of the country’s hotly contested presidential election.

Tens of thousand peaceful protesters have been gathering on the streets of Minsk every night since Sunday only to meet a vicious police response for the mere fact of public gathering.

Riot police in full gear would snatch people from the streets for wearing a white wristband, a symbol of the protests, or for flashing a V-sign.

Hundreds of people have been gathering outside a detention facility in a residential neighbourhood in Minsk to try to find out what happened to their family members who disappeared on Sunday.

Tatyana, who did not give her last name fearing reprisals, was standing in the yard near the jail, chain-smoking.

Her son Dmitry, 22, was walking home Sunday night from a birthday party after his mother failed to get him a cab because the internet had been cut off.

Forty-eight hours after he disappeared, Tatyana was told that her son was in custody but she still does not know his whereabouts or what he was charged with.

“As soon as I get my kid out, I’m coming out to protest,” she said. “They want to force us to love Lukashenko but he’s been in power for 26 years, and we don’t want this anymore.”

Relatives of the people in custody huddled in groups, exchanging snippets of information about prison conditions.

When an ambulance drove out of the jail, several dozen people jumped on it and started banging on the vehicle, shouting to the driver and crew to show them the inmate or at least give their name.

Dasha Andreyanova, an actress, said her fellow detainees were screaming all night after she was arrested on Sunday.

“Police vans would arrive one after another all night. Truncheons sounded as loud as applause, and there were screams all around,” she said. “We couldn’t sleep all night.”

Ms Andreyanova was picked up by riot police that arrived at a polling station in Minsk and grabbed people at random.

Ms Andreyanova says detainees were brought in with the regularity of a conveyor belt. They were taken to the facility at the Okrestina street on Sunday night, all told to get undressed in front of an officer for a humiliating body check, she says.

After spending one night with 11 cellmates in a cell designed to hold eight people, Ms Andreyanova was moved to a cell with six bunk beds and 36 inmates.

“We would start banging on the door, asking for fresh air, and they would open it and splash a bucket of water on us.”

She says they were starved for two days before being given biscuits and yogurt donated by volunteers.

Ms Andreyanova’s account was corroborated by another woman outside the jail where she was waiting for news about her son, who was detained with her on Sunday.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said that she was jailed Sunday night along with her teenage son and was released on Tuesday.

She had her period when she  was arrested, and was forced to use her socks to soak up the blood.

“I couldn’t use any pads and there was no toilet paper, so I had to wash my socks and use them.”

From the roof of the jail, two snipers in military fatigues were watching the crowd of distraught relatives, mostly middle-aged women with shopping bags full of toilet paper and groceries.

Earlier this week, evidence of inhumane treatment of those arrested began to emerge.

Videos taken over the fences of police stations show officers hitting detainees and forcing them to their knees, or making them lie face down outside in tightly packed rows.

Less than 24 hours after she was released on Tuesday night, Ms Andreyanova struggles to process the violence she saw behind bars.

“They are enjoying it, it’s as if they were told that it’s okay now to beat people,” she said. “Our country is in the hands of a gang.”

Authorities have refused to give any information about the detained people even to their lawyers. Several people have been put on trial inside the jail with judges coming in for closed-door sessions.

Attorney Mikhail Kirillyuk arrived at a police office in Minsk to get information about a man detained on his way home from work.

“I was simply told to go away,” Mr Kirillyuk said. “It’s a complete breakdown of the legal system, there’s no other way to describe it.”