Over the past month, doctors, nurses and ambulance workers in white coats and uniforms have often joined the protests in Belarus.
The authorities’ indifference to the coronavirus pandemic, systemic problems in the country’s healthcare system and the mass beatings of citizens and detention of healthcare workers during the protests have driven them to take a stand, despite the risks. Some have treated shocking injuries after cruel treatment and torture by police, particularly at Minsk’s Okrestina jail.
openDemocracy spoke to four Belarusian medics about their interactions with riot police, why their “chains of solidarity” actions are so popular, and the injuries that protesters are facing.
