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Belarusian Opposition Activist Fined Over Flag


Protesters wave the old national flag in Minsk.
Protesters wave the old national flag in Minsk.
VITSEBSK, Belarus -- A court in the Belarusian city of Vitebsk has fined an opposition activist for "unsanctioned public action," RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Syarhey Kavalenka of the Conservative Christian Party of Belarus Popular Front (KHP-BNF) was fined about $376.

He was arrested on September 14 for placing Belarus's old national white-and-red flag on Vitsebsk's Victory Square.

The Belarusian government does not recognize the old national flag, which was used in 1918 during the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic.

Currently the white-and-red flag, as a symbol of the first occurrence of Belarusian independence, is used by the opposition in protests against the government.
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