Thousands join new protests in Belarus capital as president eases crackdown

Belarus Election

Tens of thousands of people have flooded the heart of the Belarus capital in a show of anger over a brutal police crackdown on peaceful protesters that followed a disputed election, as authorities sought to ease rising public fury by freeing at least 2,000 who were jailed after earlier demonstrations.

Factory workers marched across the city shouting “Go away!” in a call for authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to resign after 26 years of iron-fisted rule that was extended in an election on Sunday that protesters denounced as rigged.