BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
22/02/2008
Belarusian journalist jailed over Prophet Mohammad cartoon to be released
Minsk, February 22, Interfax - Alexander Sdvizhkov, the editor-in-chief of the Belarusian newspaper Zgoda who was sentenced to three years in jail over the publication of the controversial Prophet Mohammad cartoon, will be released on Friday under a ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Belarus, Court spokesman Anastasiya Tsimanovich told Interfax.
The criminal case against the journalist was opened by the Belarusian State Security in February 2006 over the publication of the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in the Zgoda.
"The Supreme Court found it possible to exercise lenience in the case of Sdvizhkov, taking into account his heath and other circumstances," said Tsimanovich. The jail sentence has been commuted to three-month arrest. Because the journalist has already served the time, he will now be set free.
According to earlier reports, the Minsk City Court on January 18, 2008, sentenced Sdvizhkov to three years in a penal colony for fanning religious hatred.
Source:
http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=4319
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