Belarusian Opposition Activist Sentenced For Parole Violation

Belarusian opposition activist Uladzimer Yaromenak

MINSK -- An opposition activist in Belarus has been sentenced to three months in jail for a parole violation.

A court in Minsk found Uladzimer Yaromenak guilty on August 20 after two parole officers testified that they were not able to locate the defendant for more than 15 minutes recently, which would be a violation of Yeromenak's parole conditions.

Yaromenak, 22, was sentenced to six years in prison for taking part in a mass protest against the official results of the December 2010 presidential election that incumbent President Alyaksandr Lukashenka easily won.

In August 2011, Yaromenak and several other opposition activists were pardoned by the president and released on parole.

Yaromenak has been rearrested and tried several times for parole violation since then.

Yaromenak's lawyer told RFE/RL that the court ruling will be appealed.