Belarus Sentences Ethnic Polish Leader

The Minsk headquarters of the Union of Poles in Belarus (file photo) 3 August 2005 (RFE/RL) -- A Belarusian court has reportedly sentenced an ethnic Polish leader to 15 days in jail amid a diplomatic row between Belarus and Poland.
Anzhelika Borys, head of the Union of Poles in Belarus, today said that a court in the western city of Grodno sentenced Union deputy head Wieslaw Kiewlak.

Borys said Kiewlak, who was arrested on Tuesday, was charged in connection with a meeting with a Polish lawmaker.

In recent weeks, Belarus has arrested and tried several members of the Union of Poles in Belarus.

The arrests come amid a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Minsk and Warsaw.

Belarus accuses Poland and the United States of seeking to push Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka out of office.

(AP)

See also:

Minsk Set To Rein In Ethnic Polish Organization

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