Belarusian Opposition Figure Tikhanovskaya to Visit Warsaw on 9 September, NGO Says

WARSAW (Sputnik) - Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a Belarusian opposition figure and a former presidential candidate, is going to visit Warsaw on 9 September, according to Bialoruski Dom, a non-governmental organisation based in the Polish capital.

"On 9 September at 9.00 [07:00 GMT], exactly one month after the ‘elections’ that took place in Belarus, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya will meet with Belarusians living in Warsaw," the NGO said in a description of a Facebook event it had created.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski on Saturday confirmed Takhanovskaya’s upcoming visit.

Belarus has been swept by large-scale protests since the 9 August election, which saw President Alexander Lukashenko re-elected for a sixth term. The opposition rejected the outcome, claiming that Tikhanovskaya won the election. After the presidential election in Belarus, Tikhanovskaya left for Lithuania, from where she initiated the creation of a coordination council for power transition.

The early days of the demonstrations in Belarus were marked by police violence, but law enforcement officers have since halted their excessive use of force. Over 6,700 people have been detained, and hundreds have been injured, including more than 120 law enforcement officers. According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, three people have died during the protests.