Protesters held portraits of opposition supporter Raman Bandarenka, who died earlier this month after reportedly being beaten by security forces.

A witness in the capital Minsk said police arrested several dozen people and used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowds demonstrating against President Alexander Lukashenko.

Demonstrators carried banners reading, "The people's memory (lasts) longer than a life of a dictatorship" and "Stop torturing your people!"

Over 200,000 people took part in the demonstration in Minsk, the Viasna human rights centre said.

Several hundred women marched across the capital of Belarus in heavy rain Saturday to demand the resignation of the country's authoritarian president, continuing more than 2 1/2 months of protests against his challenged reelection to a sixth term.

Speaking from exile in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said François-Philippe Champagne reached out to her just after she arrived from Belarus.

Tens of thousands have been regularly protesting in Minsk and other cities since the vote, demanding that Lukashenko step down.

The Viasna human rights centre said more than 30 demonstrators were detained.

"Canada will always be on your side,'' Francois-Philippe Champagne said after the meeting.

Canada and the United Kingdom together imposed a first round of sanctions last month.