Scenes from Sunday night’s post-election crackdown in Minsk, Belarus

Spontaneous, mass protests took place in large cities across Belarus last night, after the end of voting in the presidential elections. Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations opposing the first exit polls published by the country’s Central Election Commission, which claimed that incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko (Alyaksandr Lukashenka) had won 80 percent of the vote. Riot police responded with a violent crackdown using rubber bullets, flashbang grenades, and water hoses against opposition demonstrators. One person has been reported dead after last night’s skirmishes and, according to police officials, more than 50 civilians were injured, along with 39 officers.