Belarusian authorities have arrested more than 50 people, most likely over comments on social media related to the exchange of fire that killed an opposition supporter and a member of the KGB intelligence service, the non-governmental organization Vesna said.
The group said those arrested could be charged with insulting state officials and inciting "hate in society," which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison.
Belarusian authorities said Tuesday night that a "highly dangerous criminal" opened fire on security officials when they came to his apartment, looking for "individuals involved in terrorist activities."
The authorities stated that one of the members of the KGB service was then killed and that his colleagues returned fire and killed the perpetrator.
The Belarusian technology portal Dev reported today that the murdered civilian worked for the large US-based IT company EPAM Systems, which was founded by Belarusians.
EPAM Systems last year initiated a training program for Belarusian IT workers who lost their jobs due to support for mass anti-government protests, which began after the re-election of the long-time authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.
Lukashenko's forces then considerably tightened the crackdown on opponents, arresting 35.000 people and beating thousands.
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