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| - A 43-year-old Belarusian man, Gennady Shutov, died in hospital on Wednesday, the country's health ministry announced, after his family said he was shot while taking part in a protest. Shutov's daughter said police shot him in the head during post-election protests in the Belarusian city of Brest on August 11, the Tut.by independent news site reported. Police acknowledged they had opened fire on protesters in the city near the Polish border, wounding one. Shutov's death takes the total number of fatalities among demonstrators to three as the violent actions of police and prison guards have prompted international condemnation and swelled the protests. One man, 25-year-old Alexander Vikhor, died in custody in the city of Gomel while his family said he had gone out to see his girlfriend. Another man, 34-year-old Alexander Taraikovsky, died during a street protest in the capital Minsk. Shutov was shot on August 11, the third night of unrest after the disputed presidential election claimed by Alexander Lukashenko. Police said that they shot in self-defence on a group of "aggressive" protesters armed with metal bars after firing warning shots. Their initial statement referred to the use of firearms, although this was later removed. Shutov's relatives said he was simply walking along and was not provoking a conflict. He was a motorbike enthusiast and was at the protest with another biker, local media reported. The health ministry said Shutov was transferred in a grave condition to a Minsk military hospital on August 13 and his condition worsened sharply on Tuesday evening, leading to his death. The wound was to the roof of his skull and relatives questioned whether he was shot by a gunman on a roof, Tut.by reported, citing his daughter Lyudmila. Doctors told the family that a rubber bullet could have lodged in his skull as none showed up on X-rays, she said. Interior Minister Yury Karayev has said that police only used rubber bullets, while the authorities have changed their accounts of casualties. Police initially said that Minsk protester Taraikovsky was killed by an explosive device he was holding, but video footage showed no explosion took place. Karayev later said it was possible that Taraikovsky was shot with a "non-lethal" weapon. bur-am/jbr/dl
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