Lukashenka Signs Law Allowing Belarusian Police To Use Firearms Against Demonstrators

Belarus's authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka has signed into law legislation that allows police and security forces to shoot at demonstrators.

The law, endorsed by Lukashenka on May 17, frees law enforcement officers from responsibility for damages inflicted on protesters by physical attack, firearms, combatant and special equipment if in such cases the actions are deemed «legal.» The law is part of a broad legislative move approved by lawmakers in April that severely restricts civil rights and the free flow of information amid a crackdown on the country's pro-democracy movement. Tens of thousands of Belarusians have rallied