May 19, Pozirk. Belarus is to expel three Moroccan students who were allegedly involved in a brawl in Homiel that was caught on camera a month ago.
The interior ministry said its officers gave the Moroccans a good talking-to at the campus before the imminent deportation.
The Moroccans were taken into custody and charged with disturbing public order.
In April, the interior ministry issued a public warning to social media users against commenting on the video of the brawl, which had gone viral.
“Spreading fake stories on the Internet, which create panic and incite ethnic hatred, is prosecuted by law!” the warning said.
The video gave rise to jokes, with some commenters noting that the fighters must be members of the first group of some 150,000 Pakistani workers that Alaksandar Łukašenka had promised to bring to Belarus.
Shortly before the statement came out, a pro-government Telegram channel lashed out at “destructive forces” over these or similar comments.
The Belarusian ruler announced his intention to invite workers from Pakistan on April 11, when he met in Minsk with the Pakistani prime minister. The large number of views and comments posted under the video suggested that his announcement met with a mixed response.
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