Belarus police crackdown opposition protest

Police in Belarus broke up an opposition rally on Tuesday, five days before the country's long-time leader President Alexander Lukashenko faces elections.

Officers dispersed several hundred people who had gathered in support of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of a jailed opposition blogger.

The rally, in the town of Slutsk, about 100 kilometres (about 60 miles) south of Minsk, had previously been authorised, but was abruptly halted under the pretext of road repairs.

According to the human rights organization Viasna rights center, 20 people were detained.

The police action marked the first police crackdown on Tsikhanouskaya's sanctioned campaign rally and appears to signal the toughening of the authorities' stance ahead of the vote.

Early balloting began Tuesday in Belarus ahead of Sunday's presidential election, which the opposition sees as fertile ground for vote-rigging.

This time, Lukashenko faces the toughest challenge yet from the opposition, amid public fatigue with his rule and fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

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