Russian human rights activist arrested in Belarus

Russian human rights activist arrested in Belarus

2011-04-29 03:01:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

MINSK, BELARUS (BNO NEWS) -- A Russian human rights activist was arrested on Thursday in Belorussian capital Minsk, RIA Novosti reported.

According to a statement issued by the Committee for International Control over the human rights situation in Belarus, Ivan Kondratenko was arrested by Belorussian Law enforcement officers.

"Today, on April 28, during the monitoring of one of the trials of participants in the events of December 19, 2010, law enforcement officials have detained an observer from the International Observation Mission," the statement said.

In March, the head of the International Observation Mission, Andrei Yurov, was also detained in Belarus. Yurov, who is also Russian, was deported within 24 hours.

More than a dozen of Russians and 600 citizens of Belarus were detained after the December 19 demonstration in central Minsk following the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko. The opposition alleged vote rigging and fraud. The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus over the post-election crackdown.

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