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| - Belarus opposition leader Mikola Statkevich was sentenced to 15 days in police detention Monday, as dozens of activists were held by the authorities after rallies throughout the country. Tensions in repressive ex-Soviet Belarus have ratcheted up since authorities announced presidential elections would be held August 9. Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has confirmed he will run again. Statkevich, who was detained on Sunday, was found guilty of organising an unauthorised rally in the capital Minsk on May 24, his wife Marina Adamovich told AFP. Lukashenko on Monday slammed opposition activists as "bands of criminals" who want to disrupt the upcoming ballot. The country's strongman leader said he was ready to "face them alone, if necessary." Rights groups denounced what they described as the political persecution of popular video blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was arrested and accused of using violence against a police officer at a rally Friday. Advocacy group Viasna said some 50 people have been detained at the demonstration in Grodno in the west of the country and at gatherings in other cities. Footage from the rally, where Tikhanovsky's wife Svetlana was collecting signatures for her presidential campaign, showed a police officer falling, and authorities launched a probe into police violence. More people who gathered to support Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's candidacy were detained on Sunday. During a campaign event on Friday Lukashenko dismissed the possibility of a female president in Belarus. "We'll have a man for president. I'm certain of it," he said in a speech to factory workers. "Our constitution is not for a woman (president). And our society is not ready to vote for a woman," he added. Opposition leader Statkevich had his own presidential bid thrown out last month due to a prior conviction. He challenged Lukashenko in elections in 2010 but was sentenced to six years in prison. He was released in 2015. tk-ma/jbr/erc
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