MINSK -- A court in Minsk has fined a Belarusian activist for participating in an anti-Russia rally.
The Minsk Central Court found Dzmitry Paliyenka guilty of taking part in the unsanctioned public gathering on April 26 and ruled that he must pay a fine equal to about $215.
Paliyenka was among a group of activists who protested against Belarus's alliance with Russia on April 2 in front of the Russian Embassy in Minsk.
Paliyenka did not attend the trial.
Another Belarusian activist, Vyachaslau Kasinerau, also faced trial on April 26 for placing a large poster, saying "Hands off Antifascists!" in front of the Belarusian Investigative Committee's headquarters in Minsk on April 8.
Kasinerau said that his three antifascist comrades have been "falsely persecuted" by the Investigative Committee "for their political views."
Judge Viktorya Shabunya ruled on April 26 that the prosecution's case against Kasinerau was incomplete, saying investigators need to compile more evidence.
