Belarusian Court Orders House Arrest For Blogger Critical Of Russia

Belarusian blogger Eduard Palchys (file photo)

A Minsk court has sentenced a Belarusian blogger to nearly two years of house arrest after finding him guilty of "inciting hatred" on his blog, which was critical of Russian policy toward Belarus and Ukraine.

Eduard Palchys, 26, had been held in jail since January as prosecutors investigated his case.

Under the court sentence, Palchys must return home nightly and regularly report to local police.

Belarusian authorities had opened a criminal case into Palchys's blog posts in late 2014.

Last year, he was ordered held in a psychiatric hospital for one month, and when he was released, he fled to Ukraine.

Palchys was then arrested in January by Russian security forces as he was trying to enter that country.

He was subsequently extradited to Belarus, where he was immediately jailed.