Police in Belarus crack down on protesters
Footage published by local news outlets showed police officers wearing black balaclavas dragging protesters into unmarked black vans and beating protesters with their batons at a rally that drew thousands onto the streets of Minsk, the capital.
Police in Minsk said on Sunday (October 11) they had detained "several dozen" people.
Russia's Interfax news agency reported that around 50 people had been detained and that police had used stun grenades to dispel demonstrators.
Sunday's violence followed a meeting Lukashenko held on Saturday (October 10) in a Minsk jail with detained opposition leaders, an unusual event that prompted some opposition activists to believe he was preparing to make concessions.
