European Forum

Wife of jailed Belarus opposition leader gets suspended sentence

On 16 May the Minsk court has handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to journalist Iryna Khalip, the wife of opposition leader Andrei Sannikov, for her involvement in the December 19 mass protests following the disputed presidential election. The ruling came two days after Andrei Sannikov has been jailed for five years on charges of organising mass protests after last year’s presidential poll. Also four other young opposition activists, Uladzimir Yaromenak, Ilya Vasilevich, and Fyodar Mirzayanau were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment; a fourth, Aleh Hnedchik, was sentenced to three and a half years. Sannikov's conviction has been roundly criticized by the international community; the U.S. State Department described him as a political prisoner and called for his immediate release.

On 10 May five election opponents of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka have gone on trial over protests after the disputed December 2010 elections in Belarus. Several other opposition figures accused of organizing actions that violated public order already went on trial earlier this week.

Mikalay Statkevich and Dzmitry Vus, who both ran against Lukashenka in the December 2010 elections, are charged with organizing mass disturbances and could face up to 15 years in jail. Also prominent Belarusian opposition figures and opposition presidential candidates Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu, Andrei Sannikov and Vitali Rymashevski went on trial last week for their role in the mass street protests and opposition activities against Lukashenka. If found guilty, they could face up to 3 to 15 years in prison. The trials are part of prosecutions targeting opposition figures over the protests after the election, which the opposition says was rigged.

The trials drew large crowds of onlookers, many of whom were unable to secure a seat in the packed Minsk courtroom. The ambassadors of Poland and Lithuania, as well as the temporary U.S. charge d’affaires in Belarus, Michael Scanlan, attended the hearings. Syarhey Kalyakin, the leader of the Just World opposition party, also came to the court to support the defendants. So far, seven opposition figures have already been sentenced to between two and four years in prison.

On 19 December 2010 demonstrations and protests erupted in Minsk after the disputed re-election of Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, which handed him a fourth five-year term in office. During the mass rally seven presidential candidates and more than 600 protesters were arrested. Most of the opposition figures have been held in prison since their arrest. Western governments and human rights organizations have criticized Lukashenka’s policy and say that the December 2010 elections were fraudulent and described it as “flawed.” The United States and the European Union have since blacklisted Lukashenka because of the crackdown, imposing sanctions including a travel ban on him and 150 of his closest associates in power.

On 13 May Andrei Sannikov has been jailed for five years on charges of organising mass protests after last year’s presidential poll. Also four other young opposition activists, Uladzimir Yaromenak, Ilya Vasilevich, and Fyodar Mirzayanau were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment; a fourth, Aleh Hnedchik, was sentenced to three and a half years.

Sources: RFE/RL; Reuters; CivicBelarus; BBC           Photo : Flickr by LHOON