Thousands Bid Farewell To Dead Belarusian Protester

Thousands came to pay tribute to Raman Bandarenka on November 20 at the Church of Christ's Resurrection in a Minsk suburb. The 31-year-old died in a hospital last week after reportedly being badly beaten by masked security forces. The authorities claim Bandarenka was drunk and that the police acted to pacify him. Mourners and Belarusian opposition figures say he was the victim of a police crackdown against protests that followed a disputed presidential election. There have been almost daily demonstrations following the August 9 presidential election that Alyaksandr Lukashenka claims he won. The opposition says the vote was rigged and the West has refused to accept the result.