BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

April 30, 2005 - 11:30

Belarus court frees 14 Russians detained after protest rally in Minsk

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - A Belarusian court Saturday freed 14 Russians arrested along with members of Belarus' opposition and Ukrainian activists at a protest rally in the capital Minsk on Tuesday.

"We reduced the punishment, given that the Russians were first-time offenders," said the chairman of the Minsk City Court, Mikhail Ardyako.

The 14 Russians, who included pro-democracy activists and two journalists, Wednesday received jail terms ranging from five to 15 days for taking part in the rally marking the 19th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The Russian ambassador to Belarus, Alexander Blokhin, had appealed to President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday to show leniency to the detained Russians. They left Belarus later in the day by train for Russia.

Five Ukrainian activists who were sentenced to jail terms ranging from nine to 15 days remain in custody. Their detention prompted an official note of protest from Ukraine this week. Twelve Belarusians are also still in jail.

More than three dozen Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians were arrested by riot police in downtown Minsk as they rallied against the authoritarian government of Lukashenko and policies that encourage people to resettle on lands contaminated by radioactive fallout.

Source:

http://www.680news.com/news/international/article.jsp?content=w043031A