Watchdog

The Minsk prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the election-day beating of a rights activist -- but says police will be excluded from the probe.

Maya Abromchyk claims she was severely beaten by OMON troops who on December 19 forcibly dispersed supporters of opposition presidential candidates gathered on Minsk's Independence Square.

Abromchyk sustained a broken leg and underwent two operations. She still needs further surgery. Doctors say her leg was broken by a hard object, such as a police truncheon.

Despite that testimony, the Minsk prosecutor's office ruled it will not investigate the possible involvement of OMON troops or other security forces in the case.

Abromchyk was able to walk without crutches for the first time last week. Doctors say it is unclear if she will fully recover from her injuries.

An estimated 15,000 people rallied in Minsk on December 19 to protest the official results of the presidential election that gave incumbent President Alyaksandr Lukashenka an overwhelming victory.

Opposition activists say the vote -- which international election monitors said was flawed -- was fraudulent.

Police and security forces violently dispersed the demonstration, beating activists and taking scores of them to detention centers, including most of the opposition presidential candidates.

Dozens of activists have since been tried and found guilty of beating police or "taking part in mass unrest" and sentenced to various prison terms.

-- RFE/RL's Belarus Service

Iranian journalist Nazanin Khosravani has been sentenced to six years in jail, her lawyer has told an opposition website.

Kaleme quoted Farideh Gheirat as saying on April 18 that he was informed of the sentence, issued by the 26th branch of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, on April 16.

Gheirat said the charges against Khosravani included "assembly and collusion against the national security" and "spreading propaganda against the regime."

Khosravani was taken into custody in Tehran in November. She was held in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Tehran's Evin prison, which is run by the Intelligence Ministry.

After 132 days in incarceration, Khosravani was released in March on bail of around $600,000.

Khosravani used to work for several reformist newspapers, including "Sharq." Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said at the time of her arrest that she was charged with acting against national security.

Khosravani's mother, Azam Afsharian, however, previously denied the charges against her daughter in an interview with RFE/RL's Radio Farda. She also said Khosravani had been unemployed for some time before she was arrested.