Belarus convicts well-known activist and sentences him to 6 years in prison

The leading human rights organization in Belarus says a well-known opposition activist has been convicted of public order offenses and sentenced to six years in prison. Dzmitry Kuchuk, whose Green Party was shut down last year, was arrested on Feb. 16 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, near the Russian Embassy. He had gone to lay flowers and light a candle in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose sudden death in a remote Arctic prison was announced on that day. In the run-up to a presidential election next month, the authorities have launched another wave of arrests.