Watchdog

ASTANA -- Police in the Kazakh capital, Astana, have dispersed a public protest by some 30 local residents who demanded proper compensation for their property, which they say was confiscated by local authorities.

A total of 27 protesters, including 12 children, were detained by police, forcibly placed on buses, and later released on April 11.

The protesters gathered in front of the Prosecutor-General's Office demanding to meet with Prosecutor-General Askhat Dauylbaev.

Protesters said city authorities paid low compensation after seizing their private land and demolishing their houses in areas used to construct new buildings for Nazarbaev University and other state buildings in Astana.

After the protesters refused to meet with Dauylbaev's representatives inside the building and demanded to see him personally, police arrived and the protesters were forcibly taken away.

HRODNA, Belarus -- Belarusian businessman and political activist Mikalay Autukhovich has been released after serving five years in jail.

Some 30 people, including Autukhovich's relatives, friends, and journalists, met him at the gates of the prison in the western city of Hrodna on April 8.

Autukhovich told journalists that he still considers his case politically motivated and called the Belarusian government criminal.

Autukhovich was arrested in 2009 and convicted in 2010 on charges of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.

He was originally charged with preparing terrorist acts against officials in his native town of Vaukavysk. The charge was later dropped.

While in jail, Autukhovich has been repeatedly placed in solitary confinement for going on hunger strikes and other forms of protests against his sentence, including a suicide attempt.