MOSCOW, August 10 (RAPSI) – The Union of Journalists of Russia has voiced protest over recent arrests of representatives of mass media in Belarus, according to a statement on the organization’s website.

Russian journalists covering the presidential election in Belarus were arrested in Minsk on August 9 and 10.

The Union of Journalists of Russia has demanded to immediately release seven arrested media members, including Semen Pegov, Maxim Solopov, Yevgeny Oleynik, Anton Starkov and Dmitry Lasenko. Allegedly, Pegov and Solopov were beated during apprehension, the statement reads.