Crackdown on opposition

Belarus has handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to independent journalist Irina Khalip, the wife of imprisoned opposition leader Andrei Sannikov, as it continues to prosecute anti-government figures.

A Minsk court handed down the sentence to Khalip and cancelled cancelling the house arrest order she had been under since January. She was set free after the sentence was announced.

The court ruled that Khalip, who works for the Russian newspaper "Novaya Gazeta," was an organizer and participant in illegal public demonstrations on December 19. Three men standing trial with Khalip were sentenced to prison terms of two or three years.

All three are members of opposition political parties.

Opposition figures on trial

On Saturday, a Minsk court gave a five-year prison sentence to Khalip's husband, Andrei Sannikov. He was charged with organizing anti-government demonstrations and heading attacks on government buildings.

Sannikov ran unsuccessfully against President Alexander Lukashenko in last year's presidential elections.

The Belarus government has launched criminal cases against some 30 opposition leaders and supporters who took part in massive demonstrations against Lukashenko's re-election to a fourth term in office.

International sanctions

According to a count by the Interfax news agency, 24 people have so far been found guilty on a variety of charges. Other trials are still in progress.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has called for the release of Sannikov and all political prisoners in the former Soviet republic. EU and US officials have also condemned the crackdown and threatened further sanctions against the country.

Author: Timothy Jones (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler