Human rights group Vesna-96 said Sunday that more than 200 people have been arrested by the Belarus police during crackdowns on protests following the re-election of President Aleksander Lukashenko in August.

Elections in Belarus have been condemned by both citizens of the country and international human rights groups since 2004, with opposition leaders often being arrested, beaten, and forced into exile. Lukashenko’s regime has also been accused of controlling the media and surveilling political dissidents.

The protestors allege Lukashenko committed electoral fraud and rigged the elections to seek a sixth term in August. Lukashenko is Europe’s longest-serving leader and has been the only president of the country since the adoption of its constitution in 1994. In Minsk, crowds of more than 100,000 people have been protesting every week against the president’s rule. It has been reported that the police are suppressing protestors through the use of stun grenades, water cannons, beatings and mass arrests. According to Vesna-96’s list of currently arrested protestors, political prisoners include students, human rights activists, lawyers, directors, and businessmen. Governmental authorities have also restricted access to public metros and the internet to prevent large gatherings.

The violent clampdown on human rights of peaceful protestors has been criticized by the international community, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN human rights investigator for Belarus. Both US and the EU have released statements declining to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of the country.