Arrested Belarus Opposition Leader Faces Six Years in Prison for Protest
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
An opposition candidate who challenged Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’s autocratic leader, in this month’s presidential elections faces six years in jail if convicted of hooliganism charges.
Alexander Kozulin was arrested on Saturday night as he attempted to lead a group of protesters to a prison where more than 200 opposition supporters were being held. After five days of protests, Mr Lukashenko had ordered police to break up the meeting in Minsk.
About 100 of those who marched with Mr Kozulin were also arrested.
European ministers imposed travel bans on Mr Lukashenko last week in protest at what they called a rigged election.
The Austrian government, which holds the presidency of the European Union, said: “The EU Presidency expresses serious concern about the arrest of demonstrators and demands their immediate release.”
