BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/04/2008

U.S., EU Call For Release Of Belarusian Oppositionist

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said on April 22 that Washington calls "for the immediate and unconditional release of [Andrey] Kim as well as all political prisoners in Belarus," according to the department's website. Kim was sentenced earlier that day to 18 months in prison for participating in an unsanctioned rally on January 10 that was held in support of the rights of small-business owners. The court also found Kim guilty of "violence or threats of violence against a police officer" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," April 23, 2008). "It is another example of the Belarusian government working to silence political opposition and silence civil society," Casey said. In a statement released on April 23, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner condemned the conviction of Kim and nine other youths, Belapan reported. "I call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arrested whilst demonstrating peacefully, as well as all other political prisoners," Ferrero-Waldner said. Jonathan Moore, the deputy mission chief at the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, said on April 22 that the United States currently recognizes two people as political prisoners in Belarus: Kim and former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin. AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/04/3-cee/cee-240408.asp

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