Belarusian rights activist sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for tax evasion

Belarusian rights activist sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for tax evasion

2011-11-25 18:46:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

MINSK (BNO NEWS) -- A prominent Belarusian human rights activist was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison on Thursday after being convicted of tax evasion, officials said.

Ales Belyatsky, the head of the Vyasna human rights center which is known for its criticism of Belarusian authorities, was convicted of failing to pay taxes over 567,000 euros (some $764,000) transferred by unidentified individuals to his accounts in Lithuania and Poland. He had denied the charges, saying that the money was for the human rights group.

Prosecutor Vladimir Saikovsky demanded that the activist be jailed in a high-security prison and his property be seized, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Belyatsky, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times, has also been ordered to pay a fine of 721 million Belarusian rubles ($83,000) to the state.

In his last plea, the 49-year-old activist accused the Belarusian secret service, the KGB, of "deliberately working against rights activists, using all methods to intimidate them." Prosecutor Saikovsky denied the allegations that political motives were behind Belyatsky's trial.

Belyatsky's arrest sparked an angry reaction from the European Union, whose foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release the activist. The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, also condemned the detention.

"The European Parliament considers the charges against Ales Byalyatski in the trial as politically motivated and unjustified," Buzek said in a statement. "We call on Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ales Byalyatski and for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners still in custody and for all charges against them to be dropped."

The Vyasna center has provided legal aid to thousands of Belarusians who were fined or jailed over their criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's authoritarian regime since 1996 when it was established.

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