This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A man in Belarus has been hospitalized in a grave condition after he set himself on fire in the city of Smalyavichy near Minsk.
The Interior Ministry said on September 18 that the man, whose identity was not disclosed, poured a flammable liquid on himself and set himself on fire in front of a police directorate.
The ministry placed the video of the incident on YouTube.
It was not immediately clear why the man set himself on fire.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Volha Chamadanava said that the man is a 36-year-old local resident with a history of alcoholism and who had attempted to commit suicide in the past.
Some social-media users had speculated the man was attempting a form of protest against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Mass protests challenging the results of an August 9 presidential election that declared Lukashenka the winner have swept across Belarus over the past month.
