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Thousands attend funeral for opposition protester killed in Minsk

Source: Meduza
On Friday, November 20 a funeral ceremony for opposition protester Raman Bandarenka took place in Minsk — the 31-year-old artist died of severe head trauma hours after he was detained on November 12. Reportedly, Bandarenka was <a href="https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/11/13/an-innocent-victim-of-a-terrible-system" target="_blank">beaten up</a> by a masked man who appeared to be a plain-clothed law enforcement officer. Bandarenka was attacked after he approached a group of masked strangers who were trying to remove red-and-white ribbons (<a href="https://meduza.io/en/feature/2020/08/14/here-s-why-are-protesters-in-belarus-are-flying-a-white-and-red-flag" target="_blank">protest symbols</a>) from a fence on <a href="https://meduza.io/feature/2020/09/27/v-minske-poyavilis-desyatki-protestnyh-dvorov-tam-po-sosedski-protestuyut-protiv-lukashenko-ustraivayut-kontserty-i-boryutsya-s-silovikami" target="_blank">“Changes Square”</a> — the courtyard of a residential complex in central Minsk that has become a popular gathering place for local opposition supporters. According to the Belarusian news outlet <a href="https://news.tut.by/society/708570.html" target="_blank">Tut.by</a>, thousands of people came to say their goodbyes to Bandarenka. They brought red-and-white flowers and wreaths with the inscription “To a Hero of Belarus.”
On Friday, November 20 a funeral ceremony for opposition protester Raman Bandarenka took place in Minsk — the 31-year-old artist died of severe head trauma hours after he was detained on November 12. Reportedly, Bandarenka was beaten up by a masked man who appeared to be a plain-clothed law enforcement officer. Bandarenka was attacked after he approached a group of masked strangers who were trying to remove red-and-white ribbons (protest symbols) from a fence on “Changes Square” — the courtyard of a residential complex in central Minsk that has become a popular gathering place for local opposition supporters. According to the Belarusian news outlet Tut.by, thousands of people came to say their goodbyes to Bandarenka. They brought red-and-white flowers and wreaths with the inscription “To a Hero of Belarus.”
BelaPAN / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA

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