Conviction of Belarusian Opposition Figure

The United States condemns today’s conviction of former Belarusian presidential candidate Aleksandr Kozulin, who was sentenced to five and one-half years for alleged "hooliganism" and disturbing the peace. The entire trial was a politically motivated process designed to punish Kozulin for expressing his political views. As we have done in the past, we will take steps to impose appropriate sanctions on those responsible for this abuse of a Belarusian citizen’s rights. We call on the Belarusian authorities to free Kozulin and all those being held on politically motivated charges, including the four civic activists associated with the non-partisan monitoring group Partnership.