BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/07/2007

EU 'dismayed' by arrest in Belarus of opposition youth leaders

(BRUSSELS) - EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner voiced dismay on Thursday at the imprisonment earlier this week of two opposition youth group leaders in Belarus.

After being detained for robbery, Pavel Severinets and Alexei Shein were sentenced on Tuesday in Minsk to 15 days in prison for possessing fliers for a banned concert.

"I am dismayed at the arrest and detention of several members of the Belarus democratic opposition over the last days, including Pavel Severinets and Aleksei Shein," she said in a statement.

"I call on the Belarusian authorities to release all those detained on political grounds without delay," she added.

Severinets was freed from jail in May after being convicted for organising an unauthorised rally.

Strict laws regulate political groups in Belarus, limiting effective opposition. Non-governmental organisations also operate under heavy restrictions.

Several political candidates who challenged the re-election of Belarus's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in March have since been jailed, many with sentences lasting several years.

Source:

http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1185469213.66

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