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Belarus Opposition Trials Begin in Minsk

11 May 2011 20:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A Belarusian journalist and two ex-presidential candidates have gone on trial in Minsk, in the latest court cases against opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko’s government, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.

Journalist Irina Khalip and ex-candidates Nikolai Statkevich and Dmitry Uss were arrested during violent post-election protests on December 19. They are charged with organizing mass disorder. All three pleaded not guilty.

Khalip, who has spent months under house arrest, is facing a reduced sentence of three years in prison, while Statkevich and Uss could be sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.

Khalip is the wife of Andrei Sannikov, another former candidate also on trial in connection with the protests. The government has threatened to seize custody of their three-year-old son and place him in an orphanage.

Five former presidential candidates are now on trial in Belarus. The arrests and trials against those who either ran against Mr. Lukashenko or demonstrated against his disputed victory are part of a wider crackdown on those seen as opposing the authoritarian leader.

President Lukashenko won the December election with 80 percent of the vote, but international observers have said the election was flawed.