Belarusian Opposition Activist Released From Detention

Nasta Palazhanka after being released from KGB prison in Minsk on February 17.

MINSK -- The deputy head of the opposition Young Front movement has been released from a KGB pretrial detention center, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Youth Front Deputy Chairwoman Nasta Palazhanka was warned upon her release on February 17 not to leave Minsk before an investigation was completed into her case and she goes to trial.

Palazhanka and dozens of other opposition activists were charged with organizing mass unrest in Minsk on December 19 following the announcement of incumbent President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's runaway reelection.

She was the last woman facing charges in connection with those protests who was still in detention. Journalist Iryna Khalip has been placed under house arrest, and Natalya Radzina, editor of the opposition Charter 97 website, has been transferred from Minsk to her native town of Kobrin.

The first trial of an opposition activist on charges related to the postelection protests took place on February 17. The defendant, Vasil Parfyankou, was sentenced to four years in prison.

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