BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/07/2007

9 opposition activists detained in Belarus

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Belarusian authorities have detained at least nine opposition activists in an apparent effort to hamper a planned protest, rights activists said Tuesday.

Opposition leaders Paval Sevyarynets and Alyaksey Shein were detained late Monday in the capital, Minsk, and sentenced Tuesday to 15 days in prison by a Minsk court for illegally

distributing opposition materials. Other detained activists were still awaiting trial.

The opposition activists were arrested this week by the Belarusian security agency which still goes under its Soviet name, KGB, said Tatiana Protko, head of the leading rights group Belarusian Helsinki Committee.

Opposition groups are preparing for a Friday rally, which has been banned by authorities.

"Repression can't weaken the young Belarusians striving for freedom and (integration into) Europe," Sevyarynets told The Associated Press after hearing his sentence.

Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, quashing dissent, closing down opposition media and cracking down on private business. The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on him and on top members of his government.

The 2004 referendum scrapped presidential term limits and gave Lukashenko the go-ahead to seek a third term in 2006 and prompted days of protests by opposition parties and youth activists. Lukashenko's win in last year's presidential election was widely criticized by opposition groups and Western observers as flawed.

Source:

http://www.pr-inside.com/opposition-activists-detained-in-r183226.htm