BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

08/12/2008

Organizer of Belarusian business protest on trial

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - A Belarusian opposition activist has gone on trial for his role in an unsanctioned protest over strict new regulations on businesses. Alexander Borozenko faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

His defense lawyer Pavel Sapelko said Monday the trial is the latest example of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko's turn toward repression.

In the January protest in downtown Minsk, about 2,000 entrepreneurs protested new legislation that forced them to reregister their ventures and doubled their taxes.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with a harsh hand since 1994, quashing dissent. He has maintained a Soviet-style, centrally controlled economy that is heavily reliant on cheap Russian energy supplies.

Source:

http://www.kyivpost.com/world/31736

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