MINSK -- Two activists in Belarus have been sentenced to five days in jail for publicly commemorating the life of a young man who died in prison under uncertain circumstances.
A court in Minsk found Alyaksandr Danilau guilty on November 15 of taking part in an unsanctioned public gathering and sentenced him to five days in jail.
On November 14, another activist who took part in the commemoration event, Andrey Bandarenka, was also sentenced to five days in jail.
Police arrested more than a dozen participants at the memorial on November 14, which was held in front of the detention center in Minsk where 21-year-old Ihar Ptsichkin died in August.
He was serving a three-month sentence for driving without a license.
Relatives reject official statements saying Ptsichkin died of heart failure, saying his body bore traces of a beating.
A court in Minsk found Alyaksandr Danilau guilty on November 15 of taking part in an unsanctioned public gathering and sentenced him to five days in jail.
On November 14, another activist who took part in the commemoration event, Andrey Bandarenka, was also sentenced to five days in jail.
Police arrested more than a dozen participants at the memorial on November 14, which was held in front of the detention center in Minsk where 21-year-old Ihar Ptsichkin died in August.
He was serving a three-month sentence for driving without a license.
Relatives reject official statements saying Ptsichkin died of heart failure, saying his body bore traces of a beating.
