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Thousands In Belarus Honor Anti-Government Protester Reportedly Killed By Security Forces

Thousands of people gathered in Minsk on November 12 to honor an anti-government protester reportedly beaten to death by masked Belarusian security forces.

Witnesses say that men in plain clothes abducted 31-year-old Raman Bandarenka on November 11 after a scuffle in a square where they came to remove red-and-white ribbons that represent the opposition protest movement against strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

A short time later, Bandarenka was reportedly taken to a hospital with severe head trauma and died on November 12.
People lay flowers to pay tribute to Raman Bandarenka in a courtyard that has been dubbed the "Square of Changes" in Minsk on November 12.
1 People lay flowers to pay tribute to Raman Bandarenka in a courtyard that has been dubbed the "Square of Changes" in Minsk on November 12.
The sign reads: "Raman Bondarenko is your friend, your brother, your son, your father, your neighbor, [and] you!"
2 The sign reads: "Raman Bondarenko is your friend, your brother, your son, your father, your neighbor, [and] you!"
A photograph of Raman Bandarenka is surrounded with candles and flowers brought by the mourners. The sign on the left says: "[Long] live Belarus," and the one on the right says: "We will survive, we are the best."
3 A photograph of Raman Bandarenka is surrounded with candles and flowers brought by the mourners. The sign on the left says: "[Long] live Belarus," and the one on the right says: "We will survive, we are the best."
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The writing on the wall says in Russian: "We won't forgive the death of Raman."
15 The writing on the wall says in Russian: "We won't forgive the death of Raman."
Mourners lay flowers at the impromptu shrine to Bandarenko below the graffiti reading: ""We will survive, we are the best." 
16 Mourners lay flowers at the impromptu shrine to Bandarenko below the graffiti reading: ""We will survive, we are the best." 
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RFE/RL's Belarus Service

RFE/RL's Belarus Service is one of the leading providers of news and analysis to Belarusian audiences in their own language. It is a bulwark against pervasive Russian propaganda and defies the government’s virtual monopoly on domestic broadcast media.

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