Belarus Opposition Leader Sentenced
July 13, 2006
Kazulin (left) tussles with police at an opposition demonstration in Minsk on March 2 (AFP)
Kazulin
was a candidate in Belarus's March 19 presidential election.
The prosecutor had asked for a six-year sentence.
"We will now appeal this sentence to all [higher courts], and our only hope is international support and an international court, because I'm sure that in our country we will never obtain justice," Iryna Kazulina, Kazulin's wife, told RFE/RL's Belarus Service after the sentence was announced.
Earlier today, the judge ordered Kazulin and media removed from court. Kazulin's defense attorney described the proceedings as "a farce."
(with material from Reuters, dpa)