Relatives Allowed To Visit Belarusian Activist In Prison Hospital

Jailed Belarusian activist Syarhey Kavalenka

VITSEBSK, Belarus -- A judge in the eastern Belarusian city of Vitsebsk has allowed relatives of jailed opposition activist Syarhey Kavalenka to visit him in a prison hospital in Minsk.

Syarhey Kavalenka, 37, was sentenced in Vitsebsk last week to 25 months in jail for a parole violation, and sent to a prison hospital in the capital, Minsk, on February 28.

His wife was allowed to visit him before the transfer.

Kavalenka has reportedly lost some 30 kilograms while on hunger strike and his four-day trial was delayed several times due to health concerns.

He was detained in December 2011 for allegedly violating the terms of his parole relating to an earlier conviction on charges of "illegally displaying the banned Belarusian national flag."