BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

17/11/2006

Germany 'very worried' about health of Belarus opposition leader Kozulin

The Associated Press

BERLIN: The German government said Friday it is "very worried" about the health of jailed Belarusian opposition leader Alexander Kozulin and renewed a call to Minsk to release him and other political prisoners.

Kozulin was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison in July after being convicted of organizing an unauthorized rally against the disputed March re-election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.

A former cellmate said Thursday that his health has declined badly since he started a hunger strike nearly a month ago.

The German government "is very worried about his state of health," Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said, adding that the German Embassy in Belarus has been in touch with Kozulin's wife.

"He is not doing well and he is being harassed by prison authorities - for example, he can shower only once a week," Jaeger said.

Kozulin ran against Lukashenko in a campaign marred by widespread arrests and harassment of the opposition. Jaeger said his conviction was of an "openly political nature."

"The German government once again calls on the Belarusian government to release without delay Mr. Kozulin and all other political prisoners," he said.

Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet republic of 10 million with an iron fist since 1994. He is a pariah in the West for crushing dissent and prolonging his rule through votes widely seen as fraudulent.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/17/europe/EU_GEN_Germany_Belarus.php