Eurovision: Belarus' Anastasiya Vinnikova

THIS is Eurovision.

BELARUS: Gays Arrested And Roughed Up By Police At Slavic Pride

Today Minsk cops burst out of a police bus several times to chase and arrest young gay men displaying rainbow flags at the city's Slavic Pride event. Early reports claim riot police beat and arrested several dozen participants. At times, the foreign press outnumbered both the police and the protesters. I'll be updating this post all day, below are the first images.

MINSK: Hooded Fascists Gather Outside Gay Pride Headquarters

A gang of hooded fascists gathered tonight outside a Minsk hotel where the first of this weekend's Slavic Pride events are taking place. Police have the situation under control at the moment, but this may not bode well for tomorrow's parade. Follow along on this live blog.

BELARUS: Slavic Pride To Defy Ban

Organizers of Slavic Pride say that this weekend's parade in Minsk, Belarus will go on despite a government ban. Via Russian activist Nikolai Alekseyev:

Tomorrow dozens of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Belarusians, alongside straight people, will go to the streets of Minsk to defy the ban and assert their constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. They will show that they are against homophobia and discrimination. They cannot expect protection from the European court of human rights because Belarus is still the only country in Europe which is not a member of the Council of Europe. In contrast to Vilnius last Saturday, they will not be joined by dozens of foreign human rights activists. There will be no European parliamentarians taking part in the Slavic gay pride. There will probably be no foreign diplomats to observe the event. But they will be joined by a group of fellow Russian activists who face similar problems and who will come to show their solidarity. And, most importantly, they will have the courage and unstoppable will to live in freedom, respect and dignity. All of them know the risk they are taking, but they are ready to pay the price. Slavic gay pride will be a celebration of courage and will remind us that Harvey Milk's ideals are still alive, and still inspire people all around the world to fight injustice and prejudice, even in hostile and suppressive conditions.

Fascists and anti-gay religious groups are expected to protest the parade, as we saw last week in Vilnius, Lithuania.