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2nd Protester Dies In Belarus Unrest While In Police Custody

At least two people are dead, dozens are injured and hundreds have been arrested.

2nd Protester Dies In Belarus Unrest While In Police Custody
Sergei Grits / AP
SMS

A second protester has died in police custody amid a violent police crackdown on post-election protests in Belarus.

Officials say the country's authoritarian president won a sixth term in a landslide. But no international observers were allowed in and opposition leaders accuse authorities of faking the election results.

Almost half of all voters had cast early ballots. The opposition says this was an opportunity for the president's supporters to tamper. The government said the opposition leader only won 10% of the vote, but an independent monitoring group found the president's opposition actually won 80%.

Thousands of people have protested in the streets of several Belarusian cities and towns since Sunday night. Groups of hundreds of people formed human chains. Protesters ran into rows of riot police who quickly dispersed crowds — firing flash-bang grenades and beating protesters with batons.

Belarus has a history of brutal crackdowns on dissent around elections.