Belarus live-blog: Day six after the contested presidential election Minsk tractor plant workers march on the House of Government and the mayor of Grodno addresses protesters

The demonstration at Independence Square might be done for the night, but there are still about 2,000 people rallied near the Pushkin Metro Station, according to the BBC Russian Service.

An opposition demonstration in the self-proclaimed “smallest town” in Belarus — Dzisna, population 1,500.

Riot police officers are leaving Minsk’s Independence Square, as well. People are wishing them good night, RIA Novosti says.

Protesters forming a chain with a “solidarity ribbon” outside of the Belarusian Embassy in St. Petersburg.

Another night of solidarity protests outside of the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow.

A group of Russian and international human rights organizations have sent a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Jeria, and Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović. The human rights groups are asking them to secure the release of political consultant Vitaly Shklyarov, who was arrested in Belarus in connection with the case against Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s husband, opposition blogger Sergey Tikhanovsky (Siarhei Tikhanouski).

The people gathered near the Government House in Minsk turned on their phone flashlights, which appears to mark the end of the rally. Protesters stood up and started to disperse, chanting “We clean up after ourselves” and “Every day,” Tut.by reports.

Belsat’s journalist Alyona Dubovik has been released from custody at the isolation center on Akrescina Street in Minsk. She was taken to hospital immediately due to a suspected ovarian rupture. Here’s what she had to say about her time in custody:

“They started beating me right away. One woman was doing the beating. [She was] in uniform. I don’t know what uniform it was, I don’t remember. She was a supervisor. She beat all of the girls. Then, on the thirteenth, when there was a trial, I refused to sign the papers where it said that they picked me up near the ‘Riga’ shopping center. They took me into the hallway and that woman started beating me again — with a knee to the stomach.”

In her interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda, Belarusian Election Commissioner Lidia Yermoshina also confirmed that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s bizarre capitulation video released on August 11 was in fact recorded in her office at the Central Election Commission’s building. She says she left Tikhanovskaya alone with “two high-ranking law enforcement officers, let’s say, who wanted to meet with her.”

Police are closing off the major sidewalks into the center of Minsk favored by protesters, though people returning from downtown are being allowed out, reports Tut.by.

Aaaaand it’s gone. Earlier today, Aeroflot subsidiary “Pobeda Airlines” changed its company logo on social media to reflect the red-and-white Belarusian flag championed by protesters. It was up for about an hour, but no longer.

Factory workers from the Minsk Tractor Works have reportedly left Independence Square after learning that the authorities are supposedly planning to incite protesters to violence. The workers plan to join a general strike, starting on Monday.

Former Culture Minister Pavel Latushka, who now serves as the general director of the Janka Kupała Theater, has joined the protest at Independence Square in Minsk and called for the resignations of Interior Minister Yuri Karaev and other senior officials responsible for recent violence against detainees.

Russian anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny has responded to President Lukashenko’s allegations that he is somehow involved in the Belarusian opposition protests: Navalny has donated 10,000 rubles ($135) to the “BY_help” movement’s fundraiser to provide financial assistance to Belarusians who have lost their jobs for protesting against the August 9 presidential election results.

The BBC estimates that roughly 5,000 protesters are still assembled outside the House of Government in Minsk. Two snipers are reportedly stationed on a balcony of the Interior Ministry building and buses full of riot police are positioned in courtyards nearby.

The flowers placed by protesters in Interior Ministry troopers’ shields outside the House of Government have been removed. The officer plucking away the flowers is presumably the unit’s commander. The crowd shouts “Disgraceful!” at him.

The Telegram channel Belteanews has published photos of a volunteer camp outside a detention center on Akrescina Street in Minsk. People have at the ready first aid, clothes, phone chargers, food, legal counsel, and other items and services needed by detainees being released.

Interior Ministry troops guarding the House of Government building today accepted some warm embraces from demonstrators.

Interior Ministry officials say prosecutors have opened more than 90 criminal cases against protesters in the past five days. The government says demonstrators have injured 121 police officers.

Things are really heating up outside the KGB headquarters in Minsk.

Russian companies are getting in on the Belarusian opposition activity. Aeroflot subsidiary “Pobeda Airlines” has changed its social-media avatar ever so slightly to reflect the red-and-white Belarusian flag championed by protesters.

Belarusian Health Ministry promises not to fire doctors for protesting

The Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday that no medical workers will lose their jobs for expressing political views outside work hours. Earlier today, the head rector of Belarusian State University made a similar vow.

The scene in Grodno today at Lenin Square. By the way, this is where Grodno is:

Valery Tsepkalo (Valeryy Tsapkala), a leading Belarusian oppositionist who was denied candidacy in the presidential election, confirms that he plans to return to Minsk sometime soon to join the protests against the Lukashenko regime. He told Ekho Moskvy that he’s currently in Kyiv.