KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of journalists gathered Wednesday outside a police station in the capital of Belarus to protest the detention of colleagues covering a demonstration against the nation’s authoritarian president and an election the opposition sees as rigged.

Police detained several journalists from Belarusian news outlets Tuesday on charges of taking part in an unsanctioned demonstration. They could be fined or jailed for up to 15 days, if charged and convicted.

“We are witnessing the lawless action of law enforcement agencies which are muzzling journalists without bothering about methods,” Olga Loiko, a journalist with Belarus’ popular online news outlet tut.by.

As it tries to quell weeks of anti-government protests prompted by official results that gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term with 80 per cent of the vote, his government also has revoked the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists and deported some foreign journalists.

Two Moscow-based Associated Press journalists who were covering the protests were deported to Russia on Saturday. In addition, the AP’s Belarusian journalists were told by the government that their press credentials had been revoked.

American and European Union officials have strongly condemned the targeting of media in Belarus.

During Tuesday’s protest, hundreds of students marched across the city, chanting for Lukashenko to “Go away!” as they continued a fourth straight week of mass post-election protests.

The Interior Ministry said 128 people were detained across the country Tuesday for taking part in unsanctioned demonstrations, including 95 in the capital, Minsk. It said Wednesday that 39 of the detainees remained in custody pending court hearings.