Over 100,000 march in Belarus against authoritarian leader

More than 100,000 people marched in Belarus' capital on Sunday to protest against country's authoritarian leer, who won his sixth term in office in an election widely seen as rigged. demonstrators demanded resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko, and freedom for political prisoners.

Police used water canns in an attempt to disperse crowds, but protesters remained undeterred. One video from rally showed a group of protesters approaching a water cann vehicle, opening a hatch on its side and removing pieces from inside vehicle.

Media reports say water cann malfunctioned after that and drove away. Viasna human rights center said that about 120,000 took part in a rally on Sunday. Mass protests have rocked Belarus for almost two months, with largest rallies taking place on Sundays and drawing up to 200,000 people.

unprecedented wave of unrest was triggered by results of Aug 9 presidential election that handed Lukashenko, who has run Belarus with an iron fist for 26 years, a crushing victory with 80% of vote. His main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhauskaya, got only 10%.

She and her supporters refused to recognize results as valid, saying outcome of vote was manipulated. In first days after vote, Belarusian authorities cracked down brutally on protesters, with police detaining thousands and injuring scores with truncheons, rubber bullets and stun grenes.

government has since scaled down on violence, but kept pressure on, detaining hundreds of protesters and prosecuting top activists. Many prominent members of Coordination Council, formed by opposition to push for a transition of power, have been eir arrested of forced to leave country.

More than 10,000 people have been detained since election and at least 244 people have been implicated in criminal cases on various charges related to protests, Viasna human rights center leer Ales Bialiatski told Associated Press. Over 70 people have been declared political prisoners. On Sunday, dozens of people were detained in Minsk and or cities. Viasna released a list of detained protesters on its website that by Sunday evening h over 160 names on it.

A campaign of intimidation and persecution, unprecedented for Europe, has been launched in Belarus against peaceful citizens who want one thing free elections, Bialiatski said. According to Belarusian Association of Journalists, 11 Belarusian reporters were detained Sunday in several cities.

Last week, Belarus' Foreign Ministry rescinded accreditation of all journalists working for foreign news outlets and said y must apply for new credentials. Tsikhauskaya, who entered presidential race to run inste of her husband Siarhei, a popular opposition blogger jailed in May, issued a statement Sunday supporting protest and demands to free political prisoners. She herself was forced to leave Belarus in fear for her safety and that of her children and is currently in exile in Lithuania.

se are people who, like Siarhei Tsikhauski, haven't seen ir family and children for several months. se are people who suffered for ir convictions, and are still suffering. Our goal is to free m. So I support everyone who takes to streets in ir city today, Tsikhauskaya said. Let whole world see: Belarusians want to live in freedom, t in prison, she ded.

(Im Credits: AP)

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