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Belarusian Activist Detained After Distributing Leaflets


Belarusian opposition activist Andrey Haydukou has been detained in his native town of Navapolatsak in the country's north.

The organization committee of the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democratic Party said Haydukou, one of its founders, was detained on November 21 after distributing leaflets with information about political prisoners in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

Haydukou was released from jail in May after serving an 18-month term after for attempting to contact a foreign intelligence service.

Haydukou denied guilt and said his imprisonment was politically motivated.

In 2010-11, Haydukou served as an aide to opposition presidential candidate Andrey Sannikau, who received political asylum in Europe in 2012 after spending 16 months in jail following a crackdown on protests over the disputed reelection of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Lukashenka has tolerated little dissent in nearly 20 years as president.

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