"Masked men in black jackets approached us". Fakty TVN journalist detained in Minsk

Belarus has been in turmoil since a presidential election on August 9 that the opposition said was rigged to extend Lukashenko's 26-year rule. Security forces have beaten and arrested protesters to stamp out mass demonstrations and strikes.

Among the detained on Thursday in Minsk was Andrzej Zaucha, a correspondent for Fakty TVN who was covering the protests for TVN24. The militiamen detained him at Independence Square, in the heart of Belarusian capital.

"Thousands of protesters gathered at the square. As usual, in the evening people in Minsk were waving white-red-and-white flags to protests against Lukashenko, demand his resignation, and to show that protests were not losing momentum. At one point, the whole square was surrounded by special militia units. The cordons started to tighten and push people into groups," Zaucha said.

Suddenly, he and his camera operator were "approached by several undercover officers who demanded we switch off the camera". "They told us to go with them. They said they were with the militia, but didn't show any credentials. They were masked, clad in black jackets, with no visible ID badges," Zaucha explained.

The undercover officers escorted "Fakty" TVN crew to the back of the church at the Independence Square, and there, told them to enter a van. They were both taken to a militia station.

"There (at the station), in a peaceful atmosphere, they told us they would check our documents and we would be released. Indeed, that's what actually happened. After three hours, when the square had already been emptied, we were released. In my case, no protocol was drawn up, they didn't search my pockets or go through my phones," Andrzej Zaucha said.

Viasna Human Rights Centre said that at least 270 people were detained during Thursday's demonstrations. The militia were detaining people at two locations - Freedom Square, where mostly journalists were detained, and Independence Square where at least 257 people were detained.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) said they established the names of 39 detained journalists, but even up to 50 could have been detained in total. Technically, as the militia explained, the reporters were not detained, but only taken to the station for an ID check. However, at least two people working for Belsat - Katsiaryna Andreyeva and Maksim Kalitouski - were taken in custody to Akrescina street.

Among the detained, and later released, reporters who accompanied Fakty TVN Andrzej Zaucha were several Belsat TV employees, as well as journalists from all independent Belarusian and international media outlets, including BBC, Reuters, AP, Sputnik, "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and others.

Also in that group was Swedish photographer Paul Hansen, a World Press Photo laureate, from "Dagens Nyheter". The Belarusian Association of Journalists said he had been released and ordered to leave Belarus on Friday. He was also banned from entering the country for five years.