Belarus: Poll candidates face 15 years' jail

Thursday 23 December 2010 01:00 GMT

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Seven candidates who ran against the authoritarian leader of Belarus could face up to 15 years in prison in the wake of post-election violence and mass arrests, a rights group said yesterday.

The former Soviet state's security service, the KGB, has filed charges against 20 top opposition figures, including the seven presidential candidates, for organising mass disturbances, said Ales Belyatsky of the human rights centre Vesna. Some 700 people were arrested after Sunday's election that gave the authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko a fourth term in office.

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Belarus: Poll candidates face 15 years' jail

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