Protests in Belarus on spot where demonstrator died

Thousands of demonstrators in Belarus rallied Saturday at the spot where a protester died in clashes with police, calling for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to resign after 26 years in power.

One of the protesters, a local resident, said he was there in memory of the man who "died for us, for our freedom."

Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester, died Monday in the capital Minsk under disputed circumstances.

Belarusian police said an explosive device he intended to throw at police blew up in his hand.

But his partner, Elena German, told The Associated Press that when she saw his body in a morgue on Friday, his hands showed no damage and he had a perforation in his chest that she believes is a bullet wound.

Demonstrators laid a mass of flowers in tribute on Saturday near Pushkinskaya metro station, piling into a mound about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, as passing cars blared their horns.

It was the seventh consecutive day of large protests against the results of the Aug. 9 presidential election in which election officials say Lukashenko won a sixth term in office.

Opposition supporters believe the figures have been manipulated.

"Right now, the power is in the hands of those who have no rights to it, and the people are not in agreement. Now, the fear is no more," said the protester at Saturday's rally.

Despite harsh police crackdowns against the protesters, including the detention of some 7,000 people, the demonstrations have swelled into the largest and most sustained anti-government movement since Lukashenko took power in 1994.

Lukashenko's main election opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, fled to Lithuania the day after the election, knowing that several previous presidential challengers have been jailed for years on charges that supporters say were trumped up.